Hallie Rubenhold & Kate Summerscale | Why Do Men Kill Women?
Sat 26 Apr 2025 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm




In 2024, 80 women were allegedly killed by men in the UK. This stark statistic raises the question: why does a man kill a woman? To explore this, award-winning authors Hallie Rubenhold and Kate Summerscale have delved into notorious historical crimes to uncover the roots of violence and misogyny.
Hallie Rubenhold’s Story of a Murder re-examines the infamous case of Dr. Crippen, a wife-murderer from Edwardian England, through a feminist lens. She brings the voices of the women involved to the forefront, including the vibrant music hall performers who exposed Crippen’s crimes. Her meticulous research offers a fresh perspective on class, women’s revolution, and the story of murder that shocked Britain.
Kate Summerscale’s investigation into the gruesome killings at 10 Rillington Place sheds light on the case of Reg Christie, whose victims were buried in his home. The case was revisited years after the wrong man was hanged. In this gripping narrative, Summerscale delves into the media frenzy and examines the true crime obsession that this case ignited, offering new insights into one of the most notorious murders in British history.
Join both authors as they explore the dark legacy of these crimes, and how understanding the past can help prevent future violence against women.
In conversation with Alex Clark
Venue: Palmerston Room
Duration: 1 hour
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Author Biography
Hallie Rubenhold is the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling and Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of The Five: The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper. A renowned social historian whose expertise lies in revealing stories of previously unknown women and episodes in history, she is the author of The Covent Garden Ladies which was the inspiration behind BBC TV’s ‘Harlots’. Her biographical work, Lady Worsley’s Whim, was dramatized by the BBC as ‘The Scandalous Lady W’. She has also written two acclaimed novels Mistress of My Fate and The French Lesson which give voice to the women written out by eighteenth-century literature. She lives in London with her husband.
Kate Summerscale left her job as Literary Editor of the Daily Telegraph in 2005 to write The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2008). It won the Samuel Johnson prize as well as the British Book Awards for both Popular Non-Fiction and Book of the Year. Hat Trick productions adapted the story for ITV, and went on to make three fictional dramas about Jack Whicher’s investigations.Kate’s third book, Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace (2012), was a Sunday Times bestseller, and her fourth, The Wicked Boy (2016), won the 2017 Mystery Writers of America Edgar award for Best Fact Crime. The Haunting of Alma Fielding, was shortlisted for the 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, and The Book of Phobias & Manias is now out in the UK and the US.
Chair Biography
Alex Clark is a broadcaster and journalist, who writes for many publications including the Guardian, the Observer, and the Times Literary Supplement. She was the co-host on the Graham Norton Book Club for Audible and hosts the TLS podcast. She is a professional chairperson and appears all over the UK at Cheltenham, Hay and the Southbank Centre. Alex is a festival honorary patron and now lives in Ireland.