3.5 out of 5 stars
I have been in awe of Ms. Rubenhold's research skills since reading her wonderful book The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper. I was slower to engage with this book simply because I was less familiar with the crimes or the criminal in question. However, as the facts piled up, I felt my interest quickening. It's an extremely effective method of eliminating any romantic notions about the people involved. Additionally, Rubenhold treats the women involved as worthy of our attention and care. They are not just props to tell the male criminal's story.
We get to examine all the sordid details of Crippen's underhanded and swindling ways of business. I knew generally about patent medicines—their inefficacy, their possible harmful side effects, and the dashed hopes of those who paid money that they couldn't afford to use them. Being privy to all the wheeling, dealing, and scheming to defraud gave me a new appreciation of the sliminess of the process.
We also meet a Doctor Crippen who likes the company of women but intensely dislikes dependents (like children). He is responsible for abortions, one wife's ovaries being removed, moving suddenly to avoid consequences, and the elimination of women that he no longer wished to deal with. He has few compunctions about his treatment of other people and he is a compulsive liar. But like so many of this kind of person, his superficial charm and glib tongue seem to have smoothed his way through society, since most of us expect decency and empathy in those we deal with.
Crippen's big mistake, it seems, was not noticing that normal people have friends and family who care about them. He thought that his second wife's friends would just carry on with their lives after her disappearance, because that was exactly what he planned to do. He failed to recognize the determination of those friends to find out what happened to Belle.
I was left pondering his mistress, Ethel. I can't imagine being willing to put up with being a (not so) secret mistress or a henchman in illegal and immoral business dealings, but she must have had her reasons. I have to also wonder why she was willing to don boy's clothing and go on the run with Crippen. I can see why Crippen wanted her along—she literally knew where the body was buried, as she had worked hard cleaning up the murder scene. She also knew far too much about his shady business. It must have been jarring for her when Crippen proposed splitting up when they arrived in Quebec. Nevertheless, she stayed true to him until the end of her life.
It is the last chapter which chronicles the changing narrative of Belle Elmore from murder victim to awful, repulsive woman who deserved to be killed. Belle was self confident, hard working, caring, and well connected. Crippen had arranged for her ovaries to be removed early in their marriage, so she pursued careers in opera and music hall, ending up very involved in charitable pursuits. Instead of divorcing this wife, Crippen likely tried to poison her and the situation went wrong, leaving her body with unmistakable signs of foul play. Notably, it was in the early days of the 20th century that an independent woman would be interpreted as cruel and uncaring to her husband, when women were seeking wider roles for themselves and men were resentful. Male writers switched up the story until Belle was the wicked witch and Ethel the innocent young thing. Ms. Rubenhold sets the record straight.
