CRIMES THAT MADE NEWS The Story Behind the Stories

Hardback. To be the first to 'break' with the news and to obtain the story behind the story was the author's creed and profession for more that 30yrs of crime reporting. In Fleet Street's most unpredictable branch, it was an exacting life, demanding the ability to sit patiently in court waiting for drama to break, or to act with superhuman speed. It meant keeping a mind well-stocked with the private knowledge of the underworld and of Scotland Yard, of what could be said and what remained a secret. A memory for the faces of the condemned and the innocent - and for facts that linked up over the years to form a coherent picture - was essential. The author gained a sympathetic understanding of the world of crime and punishment. He was in a unique position to tell the frank inside story of crimes that made the news of a lifetime. Chapter headings include : Crime Man at Work; The Tragedy of Madame Fahmy; An Eleventh Hour Witness (Philip Yale Drew); 'The Masked Medium' Spoof; Vaquier the Vain; The Poisoned Sandwich Case (Mrs Sarah Annie Hearn); 'Jeanne of Arras'; Some Amusing Scamps; Hanged by a Matchstick (Charing X Trunk/John Robinson) plus much more. Illus. 214pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Lightly browned edges and eps, small bookshop label to fpd, sl. faded sp. o/w Vg.