* A Trial of the Century witnessed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle *

In the dock: a quiet American doctor accused of mutilation and murder.

A 90-minute standalone audiobook in the tradition of a radio play.

Full audiobook released April 2026 on most audiobook platforms, and also available as an audiobook through your preferred podcast platform at Classic Crime's ⁠Trials of the Century Audiobooks ⁠homepage.

In 1910, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen stood trial for the murder of his wife, the music-hall performer Belle Elmore, after human remains were discovered beneath the cellar floor of their London home. What followed was one of the first great media manhunts of the twentieth century: a transatlantic pursuit to Canada aboard a steamship, the revolutionary use of wireless telegraphy, and a trial watched by a public gripped by fascination and unease.

Drawn from the original Old Bailey trial transcripts and contemporary reporting, this production recreates the key exchanges between prosecution and defence: the forensic examination of the remains, the testimony surrounding a troubled marriage, and the steady, methodical dismantling of the accused in open court. The proceedings reveal not only the legal strategies deployed on both sides, but also the atmosphere of Edwardian London as science, celebrity, and sensational journalism converged.

The Trial of Dr Crippen is the second title in the Trials of the Century series, following The Trial of Leopold and Loeb and preceding The Trial of Patty Hearst (released Summer 2026).

The true story that inspired Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.

The Trial of Leopold and Loeb: Dickie & Babe revisits one of the most unsettling criminal cases of the twentieth century. A feature-length, standalone audiobook in the tradition of a radio play.

Full audiobook available now on most audiobook platforms, and also available through your preferred podcast player at Classic Crime's Trials of the Century audiobooks homepage.

The Leopold and Loeb case has echoed through literature and culture for a century, influencing writers from Patrick Hamilton to Donna Tartt, and film directors like Hitchcock. Its enduring fascination lies not only in what happened, but in the questions it continues to raise.

Set against the social and intellectual climate of 1920s Chicago, it invites listeners into a world shaped by early modern psychology, cultural anxiety about homosexuality, and shifting ideas about crime and responsibility.

Written as a dramatic narrative and performed by a full cast of stage actors — including performers with backgrounds at the Royal Shakespeare Company and other leading theatre companies — the production brings language, character, and voice to the foreground. The result is an intimate listening experience, designed to draw the listener in gradually, with the narrative momentum and psychological pull of a classic thriller.

Visit our Leopold & Loeb page.