The Life and Death of Lord Erroll: The Truth Behind the Happy Valley Murder - Rilegato

Trzebinski, Errol

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1857024370 ISBN 13: 9781857024371

Casa editrice: Fourth Estate, 2000

Riassunto

The definitive solving of the mystery surrounding the murder of the most talked-about and glamorous member of Kenya’s notorious Happy Valley set, by the much praised author of bestselling previous books including ‘The Lives of Beryl Markham’.

Since Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll, was discovered dead in his car with a bullet through his head just outside Nairobi in 1941, speculation has not ceased as to the culprit and motive for his murder. The authorities seemed satisfied with the highly sensationalised trial of the only suspect, Jock Broughton, the cuckolded husband of Erroll’s last lover, Diana. A not-guilty verdict was returned after a baffling display of confusing evidence and clumsy police work. Trzebinski, who has lived in Kenya for 30 years, was not satisfied with the conflicting gossip on the case, none of whose evidence adds up, including that of the celebrated White Mischief by James Fox. In this gripping evocation of a glamorous, decadent and sinister life, Trzebinski uses her renowned biographer’s skill to unlock the mystique surrounding the man, and the mystery enveloping his death.

Her investigations lead her to astonishing conclusions about the true motive for his murder.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Errol Trzebinski is the author of The Kenya Pioneers, The Lives of Beryl Markham, and Silence Will Speak, a biography of Denys Finch Hatton, used as the source for the love story in Out of Africa.

Dalla quarta di copertina:

In the early hours of 24 January 1941, Captain the Hon. Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll, hereditary High Constable of Scotland and Kenya's Assistant Military Secretary, was shot in the head. His body was shoved into the footwell of his hired Buick, which was run off the road. The murder might have passed unnoticed: an unremarkable detail in the corner of the British Empire distracted by the Second World War.

But a sensational trial in which complex social comings and goings titillated the watching audience with tales of love affairs and wild parties, and a 'not guilty' verdict meant that Lord Erroll's memory would not discreetly fade.

Extraordinarily, the murder has never been reinvestigated, and Erroll's killer has never been found, the coroner's last word on the subject being that it was 'murder by persons unknown'. It was one of the century's great unsolved crimes.

Behind the diverting tales of white mischief among the settlers of Kenya's Happy Valley lies the uncomfortable truth: someone wanted Erroll dead, and the motives and means and identity of that person have never been properly explained. Until now.

Errol Trzebinski, biographer of Denys Finch Hatton, Beryl Markham and the Kenya Pioneers, is uniquely placed to reopen the investigation into the mysterious death of Lord Erroll. She knows the people and the places, and has unrivalled access to Erroll's surviving friends and family circles. She didn't set out to seek a killer previously overlooked in all the colourfully distracting images of the Happy Valley set, but that is what she found. And she has uncovered a plot that stretches from a dusty crossroads on the Ngong-Nairobi road to the heart of British power in Whitehall.

For the first time, the life of Lord Erroll, the threat he posed and the dangerous friends and enemies he gained can properly be revealed. At the heart of the story is no crime of passion or lover's feud but a carefully constructed kill.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Fourth Estate
• Data di pubblicazione: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1857024370
• ISBN 13: 9781857024371
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 384