Try free for 30 days

Preview
  • Murder: The Biography

  • By: Kate Morgan
  • Narrated by: Emilia Fox
  • Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Murder: The Biography

By: Kate Morgan
Narrated by: Emilia Fox
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

THE CRIMES. THE STORIES. THE LAW

‘Masterful’ – Judith Flanders

‘A page-turning read' – Prof. David Wilson

Totally gripping and brilliantly told, Murder: The Biography is a gruesome and utterly captivating portrait of the legal history of murder.

The stories and the people involved in the history of murder are stranger, darker and more compulsive than any crime fiction. There’s Richard Parker, the cannibalized cabin boy whose death at the hands of his hungry crewmates led the Victorian courts to decisively outlaw a defence of necessity to murder. Dr Percy Bateman, the incompetent GP whose violent disregard for his patient changed the law on manslaughter. Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England in the 1950s, played a crucial role in changes to the law around provocation in murder cases. And Archibald Kinloch, the deranged Scottish aristocrat whose fratricidal frenzy paved the way for the defence of diminished responsibility. These, and many more, are the people – victims, killers, lawyers and judges, who unwittingly shaped the history of that most grisly and storied of laws.

Join lawyer and writer Kate Morgan on a dark and macabre journey as she explores the strange stories and mysterious cases that have contributed to UK murder law. The big corporate killers; the vengeful spouses; the sloppy doctors; the abused partners; the shoddy employers; each story a crime and each crime a precedent that has contributed to the law’s dark, murky and, at times, shocking standing.

©2021 Kate Morgan (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

Brisk and fascinating… as befits a lawyer, Morgan’s real interest lies in the slippery concept of murder itself, which she carefully traces through the centuries.’ – Sunday Times

'A fascinating new history of homicide… Kate Morgan’s book is a detailed account of the subtle way that the law has changed over the years to embrace self-defence, insanity, diminished responsibility, medical incompetence, corporate manslaughter, dangerous driving, even death by bicycle.' – Daily Mail

‘Kate Morgan’s panoramic tour allows us to pull back and examine how our understanding is built on history, but also fiction and legend. Masterful.’ – Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder

A page-turning read… A history that is framed by the Law but does not shy away from using popular culture and our endless fascination with murder and murderers to bring the story to life.’ – Prof. David Wilson, author of Signs of Murder

‘With Murder: The Biography author and lawyer Kate Morgan asks two essential questions: What exactly is the crime we know as murder? and how has it gained its current prominence in our criminal justice system? Weaving together fascinating historical cases and expert opinion on the subject, Morgan presents an account that will engross and titillate all those for whom murder is a passion…’ Vaseem Khan, author of Midnight at Malabar House

Fascinating reading… The pages come alive as the author drops in details about some well-known crimes – such as Ruth Ellis and Derek Bentley, and other more obscure cases and how they changed public opinion about the law… Morgan’s book will satisfy those who like grisly tales all in all it’s an excellent book which I highly recommend.’ TotalCrime.co.uk

What listeners say about Murder: The Biography

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting and knowledgeable

Fascinating book and well narrated, but be prepared to be frustrated and furious about how the legal system looks at the world, especially women.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Don't

Until I listened to this book I woukd not have believed that anyone could make murder so boring...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.