The Last Woman to be Hanged, Robert Hancock
The Last Woman to be Hanged, Robert Hancock
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

The Last Woman to be Hanged
The Ruth Ellis Story

Author: Robert Hancock

Narrator: Lucy Scott

Unabridged: 6 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Seven Dials

Published: 11/26/2020

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

On the eve of her hanging, Ruth Ellis wrote to a friend: 'I must close now but remember I am quite happy with the verdict, but not the way the story was told, there is so much that people don't know.' Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in Britain. This is her story.

In July 1955 Ruth Ellis was sentenced to death for the shooting of her lover, motor-racing driver David Blakely. Barely three months later she was executed at Holloway prison. In this book, Robert Hancock sets the record straight. Using official documents including the transcript of her trial at the Old Bailey, he unlocks the full, secret background to the story of the last woman to be hanged in Britain.

Meticulous and fair in its analysis, The Last Woman to be Hanged is an absorbing portrait of the tragic life of a young woman, a vivid snapshot of an era and a gripping account of a notorious case that shocked the nation.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Katie on August 23, 2021

This is not what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting the build up to the execution etc, but this was just the background of the woman, Ruth Ellis, who killed her lover - and then was sentenced to hanging. Good, but not what I was expecting, and I think it could have been executed (no pun i......more

Goodreads review by Hannah on January 19, 2025

Fascinating and doesn’t miss a single detail of the events leading up to Ellis’ execution but very matter of fact with little emotion behind it.......more

Goodreads review by Mark on January 09, 2022

A really interesting read. Was written some time ago so I found some of the language a struggle to start but soon got into it. Ultimately it is a tragic love story and it is very clear that things would be very different if it was nowadays. Ruth Ellis was troubled long before this happened and it is......more

Goodreads review by elizabeth turner on December 31, 2021

Re-released 2007 but written in the 70s , the defences advantages show I was interested in this book, the story and the real life characters but the writing style albeit aged was masochistic and bordering on offensive at times that this detracted from the story. It was very repetitive and not an way......more

Goodreads review by donna craig on June 30, 2021

I was quite bored reading this hence it took so long to read.i don't believe Ruth should of been hung and I believe her solicitor didn't do a very job questioning witness .She was a very confused and believed David love her when really he was only using her......more