WHERE THERE'S A WILL. . . The Sensational Life of Dr John Bodkin Adams.

UK,8vo wraps,no dw/dj - as issued, p/back original,p/b 1st edn. [Softback/paperback original denotes the first format and its first appearance in print of the book/title.Paperbacks usually follow on from the HB edn,but can be published at the same time as the HB edn,but p/back originals are published prior to any other format.] VG+.No owner inscrptn,no dw/dj,card wraps - as issued.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,b/w photographic illustrated upper wrap; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top edge slightly dust-soiled and minimally marked+spotted; fore-edge slightly brighter and cleaner and less marked; contents bright,tight and clean.UK,8vo wraps,s/back original,1st edn,1-246pp [paginated] includes 13 chapters,16pp comprising 32 contemporary b/w photographs between pp136/7,subject b/w portrait photographic frntis,an index; plus [unpaginated] title page,frntis,contents list/table and co-author introduction. 'It was the story of the decade' - MAIL ON SUNDAY. 'Doctor a mass-murderer,ex-detective says' - THE TIMES. 'Bodkin Adams: mass killer or innocent?' - DAILY EXPRESS. 'Evil doctor beat the noose. . .' - DAILY STAR. "I opened the door and was horrified at what I saw.This was a bitterly cold winter's night,the bedclothes on her bed had been pulled back and thrown over the bedrail at the base.Her nightdress had been folded back across her body up to her neck. All the bedroom windows had been flung open.A cold gust of wind was sweeping the bedroom.That was how the Doctor had left her." The deaths of the Neil-Miller sisters,Hilda and Clara, thirteen months apart - Hilda on January 15,1953,to be followed by Clara,on February 22nd,a year later,caused no ripple on the placid sea of life in Eastbourne.Yet it was in their passing,particularly of Clara,that the two sisters came to the attention of others,including Detective Superintendent Herbert William Walter Hannam and Detective-Sergeant Charles Hewitt of New Scotland Yard's Murder Squad.And the reason for their department's particular interest? A bequest to the Neil-Miller's doctor,John Bodkin Adams of £5,000 - not exactly the norm.Yet this same Doctor Adams had,it seemed,benefited from many other one-time patients of like will and intent. Over a period of years the good Doctor had enjoyed cash bequests alone,totalling £45,000,together with gifts of cars (including two Rolls-Royce),jewellery,silver and antiques.John Bodkin Adams had been named as a beneficiary in many will more than 132,in fact: sometimes in wills of long-standing date but more often of recent compilation.He acted as an executor in other estates.Thus began the investigation which led to Dr John Bodkin Adams,being put up for trial at Court No.1 of the Criminal Courts of the Old Bailey in March of 1957,charged with the murder of Mrs Edith Alice Morrell,six years previously.Adams's defence team,led by Sir Geoffrey Lawrence gained a sensational acquittal.A short while before he died Dr Adams saw Rodney Hallworth,and the last few lines of that interview are worth repeating.Said the Doctor: ". . . .I believe you should wait until Almighty God ends your life.All I ever did was to make my patients as comfortable as possible towards the end." Hallworth did not believe him.In the opinion of many experts Adams died an unconvicted mass-murderer. Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the lighter weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!