Writing on Death

Meer over het boek

A crime and a six-decade cover-up surrounding the death of a fashion designer in the vice and violence of 1950s London. In 1954, Jean Mary Townsend was strangled with her own scarf and stripped of her underwear but not sexually assaulted. The subsequent police investigation was bungled, leading to the erasure of her significance and memory. Fred Vermorel's forensic investigation delves into Jean Townsend's life and her transgressive bohemian milieu. It disentangles the lies that have obscured this puzzling case for over half a century and offers a compelling solution to her murder and the official secrecy surrounding it. More than just a true crime story, Vermorel's investigation uses Townsend's death to explore the dark underbelly of 1950s society, from coprophiles to bombsite gangs. Heavily researched, this exposé of London's 1950s society touches on celebrity, royalty, the postwar establishment, and ultimately, tragedy.