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Introduction:- Hallie Rubenhold is the author of eight books. Her 2019 book The Five which told the story about the lives of the women who were murdered by Jack the Ripper won the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction, was the Hay Festival Book of the Year. It was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize, the CWA Non-Fiction Gold Dagger, the HWA (Historical Writers Association) Crown for non-fiction, the Agatha Award for Non-Fiction and the Anthony Award for Non-Fiction. Her 2025 book Story of a Murder which examines the historical true crime story of Dr Crippen and how he was brought to justice won the Clue Award for True Crime Book of the year and was an instant Sunday Times bestseller.
Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)
At the moment
I'm immersed in Said The Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa. What a ride! This
is a work of experimental non-fiction about the author's relationship to those
who once lived in a now derelict asylum in Cork. What she writes about
communing with the dead through documents in the archives has given me
goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes.
Why do you think anti-heroes are so interesting to readers?
Anti-heroes remind us that people are never entirely good or bad. It pleases us to believe in binaries, but history has taught me that human beings are complicated, contradictory and often shaped by circumstance. We are drawn to anti-heroes because they force us to wrestle with uncomfortable questions about morality, justice and empathy.
Which two
anti-heroes or enemies would you invite to dinner and why?
I'm not sure
having a pair of enemies at my table would make for an enjoyable evening! The
tension would be terrible and I doubt I'd learn anything about either of them,
because people rarely drop their guard when they're in the presence of others
they don't trust. Having said that, I would have loved to have met Ethel Le
Neve, Dr Crippen's mistress and accomplice - and maybe to get her into the same
room as Belle Elmore, Crippen's wife (and future victim). Watching Ethel squirm
would be fascinating.
I try to take a walk every day, no matter what the weather. As a writer, it's so necessary to step away from the computer and to engage with the physical world. Holidays are also essential. I rarely go on holiday in the UK because I always end up working! There is something about going somewhere culturally different that takes me out of my life and allows me to switch off.
Which
anti-hero would you like to be on your side in a difficult situation?
Daenerys Targaryen (who is the main fictional character in George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire and the TV adaptation Game of Thrones).
If you were
to write a book involving an anti-hero, where would you set it and why?
I'm dying to write a novel set in the American frontier. I'm so fascinated by what the harsh and relentless environment did to people. Those who went west in the 19th century were shaped by a very conservative, Victorian set of values and it fascinates me to see what happened when those very rigid ideologies were tested by the need to survive. Suddenly women weren't just subservient wives and mothers, they had to pull ploughs, build log cabins, trudge miles through sub-zero temperatures. People had to drop their prejudices when they had to cooperate with neighbours who didn't speak their language or share their culture, yet doing that often caused an internal struggle. These are the very conditions that create anti-heroes and force characters to evolve, for better or for worse.
How would you
describe your latest published book?
Story of a Murder is the true story behind one of Britain's most notorious crimes: the Crippen case. Rather than retelling it in the familiar way, which either centres the murderer or the detective who caught him, I broaden the lens and examine the lives of the people caught up in the case. As is the case with every crime and every trial, everyone has a version of events. I've approached writing the book as a historian approaches an episode in the past - I've interrogated everything, peeled back every layer and as a result seen things that others who have previously written about the case haven't.
With Bad
Apples: crime fiction's enemies and anti-heroes theme at St Hilda's this year,
who are your three favourite anti-heroes?
I think any woman who has ever held a position of power has been framed as an anti-hero, from Medieval queens to Nell Gwynn, to Theresa May! Women are not supposed to be outspoken, cunning or too clever. I'm not sure I can really choose from among them - but any woman in the past who has struggled to get by, made difficult and possibly even ruthless choices in the face of her own survival is someone who fascinates me.
Which three
films or television series featuring anti-heroes would you rewatch and why?
Succession
- this is the ultimate anti-hero watch! The Roys are all so unpleasant, but
each of them seems to find a way to do something redemptive at some point, even
if it is only for a brief moment.
White Lotus-
Like Succession, this is one of my favourite series. The complexities of
these characters makes me come back for more every time. Some characters are
more detestable than others, but no one in any of the three seasons is perfect.
Somehow acknowledging their flaws makes it all feel more real and also more
entertaining.
Game of Thrones - Extraordinary plotting and character development aside, I feel this is one of the best depictions of the pre-modern world ever to make it to the screen! Even though it's pure fantasy, all of the structures, roles and rules of the past have been perfectly recreated. It really allows us to understand and empathise with the circumstances that make characters appear 'bad'.
What are you
looking forward to at St Hilda's?
Festivals are
wonderful because they bring together readers, writers and ideas in equal
measure. I'm particularly looking forward to discussing the complexities of
crime writing with fellow authors, hearing fresh perspectives on anti-heroes,
and, perhaps most of all, meeting readers. Those conversations are often the
highlight of any festival.
Story of a
Murder: The Wives, The Mistress and Dr Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold. (Transworld
Publishers Ltd)
On 1 February,
1910, vivacious music-hall performer, Belle Elmore, suddenly vanished from her
north London home, causing alarm among her circle of female friends, the
entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild who demanded an immediate
investigation.
They could not
have known what they would provoke: the unearthing of a gruesome secret,
followed by a fevered manhunt for the prime suspect: Belle’s husband, medical
fraudster, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen. Hiding in the shadows of this evergreen
tale is Crippen’s typist and lover, Ethel Le Neve – was she really just ‘an
innocent young girl’ in thrall to a powerful older man as so many people have
since reported?
Information
about programme and ticket sales including on line tickets can be found here.
Over on
Instagram there is a chance to win a pair of online tickets. Information can be
found here.
#HCFW26
Photo © Sarah Blackie
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