It is a fact that Lucan’s friends and family closed ranks – but did they help him to escape? If you are interested in true crime, you will find this a really enthralling read, but a good editor would have improved the style, kept the book on track and perhaps made the account a little more unbiased. Public opinion was with Veronica and, of course, for the poor nanny, who so brutally lost her life. The marriage between Lucan and Veronica was at the centre of events and it was this relationship which makes the most fascinating reading. For a man who had everything to spend his days at the Clermont Club opened in 1962 so that, “gentlemen could ruin themselves as elegantly and suicidally as did their ancestors 300 years ago,” says almost everything.
The whole atmosphere around Lucan and his obsession with gambling is both tragic and sordid. However, the events are so extraordinary on their own, that you almost cannot believe what you are reading. There are often too many digressions – research on every crime even slightly relevant to the story (whether real or fictional) are brought in, as though the author cannot bear not to use any research.
Once I had settled into the author’s style I found this a really interesting read, but I felt that the telling of what happened could have been far clearer and was, at times, a rather confused account. This book takes us through the crime itself, what happened afterwards and assesses the evidence for what really became of Lucan after the murder. Whether that was because he feared for their well being, as he suggested, or because of a power struggle between him and his wife is less clear – but he certainly obsessed about the situation to everyone he met, to the point where it became virtually his only topic of conversation. His financial situation also disintegrated after the custody hearing and he became obsessed with the idea of regaining custody of his children.
DIFFERENT CLASS AMAZON FULL
What is certain is that Lucan cared deeply, for his children and when he lost custody of them to his wife (with the proviso that a nanny should be in full time residence to help her), he would have done anything to get them back. She was disliked by his friends, suffered severe post natal depression after the birth of each of her three children and the couple were plagued with financial worries after Lucan was unable to sustain his gambling losses. His marriage to Veronica Duncan in 1963 seemed to take everyone by surprise.
DIFFERENT CLASS AMAZON PROFESSIONAL
He had the best education and walked into a lucrative position with a merchant bank, only to give everything up to – bizarrely - become a professional gambler. Lucan was privileged, wealthy and was a man who certainly felt entitled to the good life. You are left with the definite impression that not only the aristocracy, but Lucan himself, got away with murder because of his background - but by the 1970’s attitudes have changed and having a title actually worked against Lord Lucan with the press and the public.ĭespite the author initially painting Lucan in the blackest possible terms, real life is rarely so clear cut and, indeed, as the book progresses the sad story unfolds.
The beginning of the book is a rather incoherent and rambling list of virtually all aristocrats convicted of murder, especially if they are linked to Lord Lucan’s ancestors.
The events surrounding the murder are shocking and make riveting reading, but this book sometimes suffers from a rather confused and muddled account of the facts. This book takes an in depth look at the mysterious disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974 after the murder of his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, and an attack on his estranged wife, Veronica. Thompson's insights into the case are genuine food for thought. Still, as I said you can't go too far wrong with the subject matter. It does come together more satisfactorily after the first few chapters, but I did get the impression that Thompson is a better biographer than she is a true crime writer. It does make for fascinating reading, however this book could have benefited from some more aggressive editing as it starts off in a muddled, confused out-of-order fashion. Throw in decades of speculation and unsubstantiated sightings of Lord Lucan, and you have an enduring modern myth.Īuthor Laura Thompson goes behind the myth to delve deeply into the case. With material like this to work on, how could you go wrong? A handsome, debonair peer of the realm married to a psychologically unstable woman: a posh gambing club, a cast full of aristocrats, a custody battle, financial woes and then a particularly brutal murder and assault followed by the complete disappearance of the earl at the heart of it all.
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