Skip to content

Infamous murderer's prayer book to be auctioned

Susie Rack
BBC News, West Midlands
Getty Images A black and white portrait-style photograph of a man with a moustache which curls at the ends, a side parting, and thin framed glasses. His face is angled to the left and he is gazing beyond the camera.Getty Images
Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen's murder of his wife, Cora, in 1910 is one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th Century

A prayer book that once belonged a notorious murderer who poisoned and dismembered his wife before burying her remains under their home is to go under the hammer.

The leather-bound book is signed by Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was hanged in 1910 for killing his wife Cora.

The American homeopath claimed Cora, a music hall singer, had left him, but police later found her boneless torso hidden under their cellar.

The auction will be held by Richard Winterton Auctioneers at Lichfield Auction Centre in Staffordshire on 24 March.

The grisly case scandalised Edwardian London and is one of the most infamous of the 20th Century.

Cora's remains, which were said to contain traces of a toxin, were identified through a scar on her stomach, though her head, limbs and skeleton were never discovered.

Crippen was apprehended at sea by Scotland Yard detectives, who pursued him when he fled to Canada with his mistress, Ethel Le Neve.

At the pair's subsequent trial, Le Neve was acquitted but the doctor was found guilty in just 27 minutes and hanged at Pentonville Prison on 23 November 1910.

Richard Winterton Auctioneers An open book, with yellowed pages. On the left-hand side, the name Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen is written in pencil, with the address Hilldrop Crescent, London, E6 underneath. On the right hand page is the title The Book of Common Prayer, with index and publisher details underneath.Richard Winterton Auctioneers
The pocket-sized prayer book is inscribed with Crippen's name and address, which was Hilldrop Crescent in London

Cora's disappearance has captured the imagination of writers and dramatists over the years, not least because Crippen went to the gallows protesting his innocence, and it has been suggested he was wrongly hanged.

An attempt by a descendant to secure a posthumous pardon for him in 2009 failed, after the Criminal Cases Review Commission refused to send the case to the Court of Appeal.

Getty Images A black and white image of a man and woman standing in a dock, fenced in by iron railings. The man is wearing a suit and has pale hair and a moustache. The woman is wearing a flat hat with a scarf tied around it, and dark jacket. People behind them in the court room are blurred but policemen can be seen to the couple's right and various men and women in suits, blouses and skirts.Getty Images
Dr Crippen was tried alongside his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, at the Old Bailey

It is alleged the doctor had the book of common prayer, currently owned by a Staffordshire collector, in prison before his execution.

It is estimated the lot will reach between £250 and £350, however Crippen's prescription books have previously failed to sell at auction.

"This prayer book is a chilling artefact of one of Britain's most notorious crimes," said auctioneer Richard Winterton.

"Much has been written about the case since it happened 115 years ago and it has inspired countless films, plays and TV programmes."

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]

More on this story
Related internet links