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A Different Class of Murder

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A Different Class of Murder

By: Laura Thompson
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
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About this listen

On 7 November 1974, a nanny named Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in a Belgravia basement. A second woman, Veronica, Countess of Lucan, was also attacked. The man named in court as perpetrator of these crimes, Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, disappeared in the early hours of the following morning. The case, solved in the eyes of the law, has retained its fascination ever since.

Laura Thompson narrates the story that led up to that cataclysmic event and reexamines the possible truths behind one of postwar Britain’s most notorious murders.

©2015 Laura Thompson (P)2015 Oakhill Publishing Organized Crime True Crime Crime Murder

Critic reviews

"Gripping...an exceptionally thorough examination." (Daily Mail)
"Sensational...the most minutely researched and brilliantly told account ever." (Mail on Sunday)
"Tantalises with fresh evidence." (The Daily Telegraph)
"A compelling new examination of the crime and a brilliant detective mind...fascinating.... Thompson gives us a tantalising range of alternative scenarios in this superb anatomy of a murder." (Independent)
"This gripping read is part social history, part detective story...fascinating." (Bella)
"Thompson delivers the goods: a compelling narrative, hypotheses based on evidence and a possible solution. But she goes further, putting the murder in the telling context of British aristocracy and social attitudes towards it." (The Times)
"Thompson is a fine writer and one can't help admiring the way she breathes new life into an intriguing tale." (Literary Review)
"[Laura Thompson] gets her teeth into the case, drawing on Lucan's friends the Shand-Kydds, finding a new source in an anonymous Lucan schoolfriend, and finally producing a narrative which is sympathetic to Lucan, but less so to his wife." (Times Literary Supplement)
"Thompson re-examines a tantalizingly ambiguous crime, delving deep into a complicated story and emerging with a gripping narrative that offers a fresh perspective and new solutions to one of the most infamous cases of the 20th century." (Good Book Guide)
All stars
Most relevant
I first heard of the Lord Lucan story on the 20th anniversary of the murder of Sandra Rivett in 1994. This book gives a full and lengthy background to the case and could serve even as social history of the well off living in Belgravia and Mayfair in the early 70s. Piece by piece. Thompson pulls apart all the nonsense that has been said about Rivett's murder and Lucan's disappearance and instead puts a convincing, evidence based theory in its place

Excellent book that comprehensively re-examines a famous mystery

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Refreshing to have this mystery examined from a fresh angle and some good insights missing from the Ransom/Veronica Lucan narratives that have imposed themselves as hard fact. Slightly improbable conclusions but alternatives to ponder. Narration good when Bentinck reading narrative: but awful, bewildering impersonations when reading dialogue that let it down! Her impersonations of "coppas" in that "ol' right, guvna" fashion were absolutely toe-curling. Spoiled it a little.

Interesting!

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A fascinating insight into the lives of a tiny louche upper class set that disdained the normative values and conduct of ordinary people in the middle years of the 20th century: a deep immersion into a brittle, glamorous world which, like so much else, the digital age has swept away.

Brilliant narration

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The book thoroughly lays the foundation of the Lucan background, from his ancestral routes, upbringing, lifestyle and marriage before going into the for and against of the fateful night.

What I love about it is the way the argument swings back and forth, discussing the different accounts, their plausibility, and pitfalls. It never show bias to either side.

The narration was wonderful. Anna Bentinck has a pure and clear voice that was beautiful to listen to.

A fantastic book.

Did he, didn't he

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Didnt expect a long long life story but pretty good well read by the reader intersting story mayby he is still alive

Very long in getting to the murder

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