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The execution of Ethel Thompson and Freddy Bywaters on 9th January 1923 signalled the end of arguably one of Britain’s most shameful episodes in its criminal annals. In her account, author Laura Thompson does not sit on the fence either: what happened to Mrs Thompson was a travesty and she does not hesitate to point the finger at those she holds responsible, most notably presiding judge at her Old Bailey trial: Justice Shearman. In fact, the author’s finger is pointed at the

If you happen to have the misfortune to sign up for one of those ubiquitous Gender Studies programmes at university chances are that sooner or later you'll find yourself reading a certain Angela Carter. Beloved of the post-modern feminist academic, Carter ticks all the right boxes - never more so than with her 1977 novel, The Passion of New Eve. Opening in post-apocalyptic America, this is a strange brew that does occasionally groan under the weight of its own symbolism. Exam

It is nigh on impossible to name more than a handful of famous Belgians so they say. The suggestion is clear: Belgian achievements are few and far between. Situated in the shadow of its more illustrious French and Dutch neighbours, nothing of much note has or could ever emerge from the country the EU calls home. Having had the misfortune to sit through 'The Unknown Girl' I have to say there might be more than a little truth in accusations of Belgian blandness. You'd certainly

Written between 1934 and 1942 'Diary of A Wartime Affair' is the diary of a young tax inspector (Doreen) which charts her affair with a colleague ('E'). What emerges is a compelling narrative that intertwines contemporary historical events with mundane everyday life at the tax office and the not so mundane affair with the married and rakish E. Historically, the diaries offer a fascinating account of the unfolding events leading up to the outbreak of WWII. Chamberlain, Hitler,

When British student Pamela Werner was found mutilated on a freezing cold Peking morning in 1937 so began a mystery that 80 years later remains unsolved, at least officially. Author Paul French does however offer a highly plausible hypothesis regarding what actually occurred on that fateful long ago night. French paints a vivid picture of Peking's notorious Badlands area - a place of opium, gangsters and brothels, a place by the sounds of it far wilder than anything the west

Fans of that superb 1976 media satire Network will likely be familiar with the tragic story of a certain Christine Chubbock. The culmination of that films ends with murder - a live murder on TV. Ratings literally to die for. Watching Network leads one on to the shocking discovery that truth can indeed be more shocking than fiction . . . ​ Back in July of 1974 news presenter Christine Chubbock sat at her desk in the studios of a Florida TV company, read out the day's news as u

For many film buffs Marlon Brando will be forever synonymous with some of cinema's most memorable roles when the Hollywood legend was nothing short of a force of nature: Kurtz (Apocalypse Now) Stanley Kowalski (A Streetcar Named Desire) or Fletcher Christian (Mutiny on the Bounty) and Don Corleone (The Godfather) Paul (Last Tango in Paris). Brando was Hollywood royalty and rightly so. Broody, beautiful and biceps-a-rippling he had it all, the ultimate leading man. Despite his