(4) This is a novel based on an actual murder case from early 20th century London. Dr. Crippen was an American living in London with a bogus medical degree running a homeopathic medicine store and married to a horrible woman. When she is found chopped up in many pieces in their basement by an Inspector from Scotland Yard, the husband is the first suspect. Especially as it seems he has absconded with his new girlfriend. What exactly happened - no-one knows. But Boyce weaves an interesting story, much of which takes place on a transatlantic journey by Ocean liner.

Boyne's writing has a dreamlike or sepia-stained old photograph come to life kind of feel. I loved his "Thief of Time" and his old character from that novel, Matthieu Zela, appears here which was a nice touch. The story was engaging and easy to pick up read anytime but did seem to move slowly. There was a decent attempt to develop other characters such as Captain Kendall and his attachment to his sick first mate, the grasping Louise Smythson, and first class passengers Amelia and Victoria Drake. But ultimately those characters didn't really have a story arc or serve much purpose besides just filler. I did guess the reveal, I won't spoil but a rather macabre detail gives it away.

Overall a good, but not great book. Atmospheric, engaging, fairly well-written, with a Dickensian feel. I would definitely read more of his novels. ( )

I have already encountered John Boyne’s expertise at blending fact and fiction, and strewing his novels with historical events and people. This worked especially well in The Thief of Time, recounted by the extraordinary Matthieu Zela, and peppered with colourful episodes from his very long life in which he encountered a vast number of celebrated figures. He takes it to a higher level in this book, in which Zela features again, although this time in a relatively minor role.

As the title suggests, the book tells the story of Hawley Crippen. Crippen is now recalled for the murder and dismemberment of his wife, his attempt to escape across the Atlantic to start a new life with his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, and the valiant pursuit by Inspector Walter Dew of Scotland Yard. In the brief acknowledgment note at the end of the book, Boyne remarks that people are often surprised to learn, or at least to be reminded, that Crippen had only committed one murder. Of course, as he immediately conceded, even one murder is one murder too many, and Boyne makes no attempt to vindicate him. The point is worthy of mention, however, because I think that Crippen has become fixed in the minds of many people, who remember the name but not the details of his crime, as one of the more prolific serial murderers.

Boyne gives us an account of Crippen’s early life in America, where he struggled to free himself from the domineering influence of his devout mother. From an early age he became enchanted by science, and longed to be come a doctor. Unfortunately, circumstances conspired to thwart these aspirations, and he had to make do with pursuing correspondence courses while working night shifts in an abattoir (although this gave him ample scope to practice his surgical skills). His obsessive striving for a medical career dominated his life to the exclusion of almost everything else, and he struggled to form relationships. He did, however, find a wife, with whom he had a son, although they both quickly came to realise that they were unsuited to each other. That first marriage did not last long, with his wife succumbing to a tragic accident, after which their son was brought up by her parents. Crippen soon lost touch with his son, and seemed to find his wife’s death as much a release as a tragedy.

Through an instance of great serendipity, I discovered a new word today: cacoethes, the [often desperate] urge to do something inadvisable. Crippen succumbed to a further bout of cacoethes, which led him, after having relocated to New York, to marry Cora Turner, a n aspiring music hall entertainer who had made a minor name for herself as Belle Elmore. Shortly afterwards they emigrated to London, where Crippen held down a couple of jobs, including managing an early homeopathic store. His relationship with Cora deteriorated, in parallel with her failures to fulfil her ambitions to establish herself as a leading star of the London stage. She embarked upon several affairs while Crippen himself met, and fell deeply in love with Ethel Le Neve, whom he had hired to help him in the store.

And the rest is history … or mystery .. or just misery.

Boyne weaves this rather sordid tale with great deftness, succeeding in overcoming the reader’s prejudice and making Crippen a largely sympathetic character. The narrative flits around, leaping forwards and backwards in time. Rather than being distracting or irksome, as can so often be the fate of stylistic flourishes, this lends the story greater depth. Boyne also lends great depth to some of the more ephemeral characters, such as Inspector Dew and Captain Kendall, master of the SS Montrose on which Crippen and Le Neve sought to escape to Canada. The overall effect is to breathe new life into a story that is already broadly familiar, and is another great success for John Boyne. ( )

Hawley Crippen might have remained a footnote in the history of true crime without his unique capture and the skillful fictionalization of the story by the incomparable John Boyne. Hawley refers to himself as Dr. Crippen, although he lacks the education and credentials to do more than work in a homeopathic pharmacy. His third wife, Cora, calls herself a gifted singer, although she lacks the talent to become more than a dance hall performer. This couple lives in a world of pretension and self-delusion, always hoping to take a step up on what they perceive to be the social ladder. Boyne's descriptions of the society they inhabit in the early 20th century are memorable, and his characterizations of the greedy, self-serving women within this community are especially scathing. While reading this book, I was reminded at times of Dreiser's An American Tragedy when the deplorably shallow Clyde stopped at nothing to achieve his goal of fitting into society.

The SS Montrose is introduced at the beginning of this novel as it prepares to sail from Antwerp to Quebec. The first-class passengers become an early focus, overseen by the pompous Captain Kendall, whose observations are pivotal to Crippen's life. These passengers are described in detail from the overbearing, self-important Mrs. Drake to the reclusive Mr. Robinson and his son, Edmund. The significance of the passage to Canada and its conclusion are significant. I didn't anticipate the ending.

This book was published in 2003, so is perhaps one of Boyne's earliest works. His skill as a writer is in evidence here, as in every book he has written. No two of his books are the same, but he manages to keep his readers enthralled whatever the subject. ( )

Once you read one of John Boyne’s books, you will probably want to read all of them. That was the case with me after I read THE HEART’S INVISIBLE FURIES. I was happy to find his older books, including CRIPPEN, a book of fiction about Dr. Hawley Crippen, an actual person who really was accused of murdering his wife in 1910. Many of the facts in this novel really did happen, and many of the characters really did exist. But, again, CRIPPEN is fiction, and most of it comes from Boyne’s imagination.

And what an imagination! CRIPPEN is superb.

The Crippen in the book CRIPPEN is a wimp with a questionable character, maybe a result of his questionable upbringing. As an adult, he’s more a wannabe doctor than an actual doctor. Still, he’s prepared himself as best he could to practice medicine when he leaves Michigan (where he meets and marries his second wife) for New York and then leaves there for England.

Crippen’s second wife, Cora, is another wannabe. She is a not-so-good music hall singer who fancies herself great enough (with a little coaching) to sing before the queen. She is a miserable hellion and abuses Crippen both physically and verbally.

So you probably won’t feel bad about the way she ends up. You may even root for the murderer.

But what will keep you following this story, including Crippen’s attempt at escape on an ocean liner to Canada, is Boyne’s writing and his overall presentation. Although the word “genius” is overused in performance reviews, no other word better describes how Boyne arranges the story the way he does here. Because of this arrangement, you will be surprised again and again. ( )

In July 1910, the SS Montrose sets sail from Antwerp on her regular crossing to Canada, and the first-class passengers begin the cautious task of getting to know one another. The pushy Mrs Antoinette Drake and her daughter Victoria are, evidently, going to be trouble; so is the half-feral Tom, nephew of the mysterious Matthieu Zela who has bespoken the Presidential Suite. But there are some amenable characters on board too. Martha Hayes is a quiet spinster hoping to make a new life for herself in Canada; and the self-effacing John Robinson and his seventeen-year-old son Edmund are also escaping to a new world. Meanwhile, back in London, a horrific crime is discovered. Cora Crippen has been murdered and buried in tiny pieces in the cellar of her house. Her husband, Dr Crippen, has absconded with his mistress. But where can they be? And will there be enough time for Inspector Dew of Scotland Yard to track them down?...

For the rest of the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/02/22/crippen-john-boyne/ ( )