Cruel Love

About the book

Soon to be an ITV drama starring Lucy Boynton, A Cruel Love is the definitive story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain. Previously published as A Fine Day for a Hanging.

'A forensically researched book that casts a haunting new light on the last woman to be hanged in Britain.' -DAILY MAIL

In 1955, former nightclub manageress Ruth Ellis shot her lover, David Blakely, dead. A two-day trial followed, but despite huge public outcry, she was found guilty and sentenced to death. At 28, Ruth became the last woman executed in Britain, her hanging one of the most notorious under prolific hangman Albert Pierrepoint.

Carol Ann Lee examines the facts behind the headlines surrounding this infamous case, which many believe led to the dismantling of the death penalty a decade later. Drawing on interviews and in-depth research into the full range of sources, she reveals the woman behind the crime.

Previously published as A Fine Day for a Hanging, this is the acclaimed biography that inspired the ITV drama, A Cruel Love - a portrait of 1950s club life in all its seedy glamour, and a tragic true tale of murder, class, love and betrayal.

'Wonderful . . . it will become the standard reference on Ruth Ellis' Stewart P. Evans, crime historian