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Murder by the Book
- A Sensational Chapter in Victorian Crime
- Narrated by: Andy Secombe
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, True Crime
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Summary
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Murder by the Book by Claire Harman, read by Andy Secombe.
Early in the morning of 6 May 1840, on an ultra-respectable Mayfair street, a footman answered the door to a panic-stricken maid from a nearby house. Her elderly master, Lord William Russell, was lying in bed with his throat cut so deeply that the head was almost severed.
The whole of London, from monarch to street urchins, was gripped by the gory details of the Russell murder, but behind it was another story, a work of fiction, and a fierce debate about censorship and morality.
Several of the key literary figures of the day, including Dickens and Thackeray, were drawn into the controversy, and when Lord William's murderer claimed to having been inspired by the season's most sensational novel, it seemed that a great deal more was on trial than anyone could have guessed.
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Overall
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- Christine
- 17-07-19
Very entertaining
Whilst this is an excellently written true story, the narration by Andy Secombe elevates this book to 5 stars- he can really spin a yarn!
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