A Different Class of Murder cover art

A Different Class of Murder

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A Different Class of Murder

By: Laura Thompson
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £31.99

Buy Now for £31.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

On 7 November 1974, a nanny named Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in a Belgravia basement. A second woman, Veronica, Countess of Lucan, was also attacked. The man named in court as perpetrator of these crimes, Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, disappeared in the early hours of the following morning. The case, solved in the eyes of the law, has retained its fascination ever since.

Laura Thompson narrates the story that led up to that cataclysmic event and reexamines the possible truths behind one of postwar Britain’s most notorious murders.

©2015 Laura Thompson (P)2015 Oakhill Publishing Organized Crime True Crime

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Toff cover art
Wicked Beyond Belief cover art
Murder by the Sea cover art
Blood Relations cover art
The Phantom Prince cover art
Must You Go? cover art
Admiral Collingwood: Nelson's Own Hero cover art
What Lies Beneath cover art
Murder in the Family cover art
A Fine Day for a Hanging cover art
Death Unholy cover art
The Last Woman to Be Hanged cover art
Belonging cover art
Supper with the Crippens cover art
Let This Be Our Secret cover art
How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward cover art

Critic reviews

"Gripping...an exceptionally thorough examination." (Daily Mail)
"Sensational...the most minutely researched and brilliantly told account ever." (Mail on Sunday)
"Tantalises with fresh evidence." (The Daily Telegraph)
"A compelling new examination of the crime and a brilliant detective mind...fascinating.... Thompson gives us a tantalising range of alternative scenarios in this superb anatomy of a murder." (Independent)
"This gripping read is part social history, part detective story...fascinating." (Bella)
"Thompson delivers the goods: a compelling narrative, hypotheses based on evidence and a possible solution. But she goes further, putting the murder in the telling context of British aristocracy and social attitudes towards it." (The Times)
"Thompson is a fine writer and one can't help admiring the way she breathes new life into an intriguing tale." (Literary Review)
"[Laura Thompson] gets her teeth into the case, drawing on Lucan's friends the Shand-Kydds, finding a new source in an anonymous Lucan schoolfriend, and finally producing a narrative which is sympathetic to Lucan, but less so to his wife." (Times Literary Supplement)
"Thompson re-examines a tantalizingly ambiguous crime, delving deep into a complicated story and emerging with a gripping narrative that offers a fresh perspective and new solutions to one of the most infamous cases of the 20th century." (Good Book Guide)
All stars
Most relevant  
A fascinating insight into the lives of a tiny louche upper class set that disdained the normative values and conduct of ordinary people in the middle years of the 20th century: a deep immersion into a brittle, glamorous world which, like so much else, the digital age has swept away.

Brilliant narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really in depth book about Lord Lucan. I remember when it happened and am still fascinated by the story.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I first heard of the Lord Lucan story on the 20th anniversary of the murder of Sandra Rivett in 1994. This book gives a full and lengthy background to the case and could serve even as social history of the well off living in Belgravia and Mayfair in the early 70s. Piece by piece. Thompson pulls apart all the nonsense that has been said about Rivett's murder and Lucan's disappearance and instead puts a convincing, evidence based theory in its place

Excellent book that comprehensively re-examines a famous mystery

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

What made the experience of listening to A Different Class of Murder the most enjoyable?

The very different perspective it had on the usual story of events.

What does Anna Bentinck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The book is very well-read and the voice is easy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

A really enthralling book!

Fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There is so much to learn from this book, which was never illustrated in the media coverage at the time. She does go over and over the same territory, which is a shame but it’s still well worth listening to and I highly recommend it.

Gripping Narrative!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Refreshing to have this mystery examined from a fresh angle and some good insights missing from the Ransom/Veronica Lucan narratives that have imposed themselves as hard fact. Slightly improbable conclusions but alternatives to ponder. Narration good when Bentinck reading narrative: but awful, bewildering impersonations when reading dialogue that let it down! Her impersonations of "coppas" in that "ol' right, guvna" fashion were absolutely toe-curling. Spoiled it a little.

Interesting!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The book thoroughly lays the foundation of the Lucan background, from his ancestral routes, upbringing, lifestyle and marriage before going into the for and against of the fateful night.

What I love about it is the way the argument swings back and forth, discussing the different accounts, their plausibility, and pitfalls. It never show bias to either side.

The narration was wonderful. Anna Bentinck has a pure and clear voice that was beautiful to listen to.

A fantastic book.

Did he, didn't he

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

What did you like best about A Different Class of Murder? What did you like least?

Excellent account of the class divisions still prevalent in the '70's; the crushingly empty lives led by the 'gilded few'; the menace and amorality of that class, especially Aspinall and Goldsmith but repetition abounds. Could easily have been reduced by half without losing any information. Worth it if you have the time ..... and yes, Lucan was responsible.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

A tale of the times was very interesting; the least? The great annoyance at knowing how much was frittered away by such vacuous creatures.

Did Anna Bentinck do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

Author knew subject well but feel too much emphasis was put into how she depicted the differences in the society of the time. Strongly suspect she feels she would like to be considered part of the high society set, as she sees them.

Was A Different Class of Murder worth the listening time?

No.

Any additional comments?

EXCEPTIONALLY HARD TO GET INTO AS THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS WERE VERY GARBLED WITH NO COHERENT PLAN.

REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT ......

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Laura Thompson has done a fantastic job of pulling many loose ends together to reconstruct what happened by tracing much new information than before to give the listener many view points that help you understand the facts rather than tabloid myths. 1000%

Just listen open-minded

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent book. Very detailed approach from all aspects and very well narrated. Might be naive of me but the report of forensic pathologist, Keith Simpson seems to show that most of the injuries to Sandra were on her right side and her attacker was facing her Would this not indicate her attacker was probably left handed? Just an observation.

Barking Dog

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews