A classic murder mystery is a closed circle. It's why settings like trains, islands and

country houses are so popular in the detective stories of the 1920s and

30s. They naturally limit and contain the potential suspects.

In these stories, murder is often a family affair, whereas the penny dreadfills of the 19th century

gloried in the seemingly random attacks of killers like Jack the Ripper. Early 20th century

who Dunits keep their crimes close to home. Spouses, siblings, children,

servants, friends, neighbors are all suspects.

And the murderer frequently turns out to be someone the victim knew well.

There's a good reason for this. The detective writers of this period weren't working in a vacuum.

They took a keen interest in the crimes of their time, often weaving elements from actual murder cases into their plots or even referencing them directly.

And there was one case, a murder both infamous and domestic, that interested the likes of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Seers, and Anthony Barclay, more than any other.

This real-life murder mystery has everything.

A body hidden in a cellar, a adultery, a transatlantic steamship

pursuit, cross-dressing, and a pleasingly ambiguous ending.

It captivated the detective writers of the Golden Age and did a great deal to shape the genre as we know it today.

This is the story of Dr. Crippin.

Welcome to She Dunit.

I'm Caroline Crampton. It all started simply enough. On the 30th of June 1910, a detective named Walter Dew was called to his boss's office to consult on a possible case.

Superintendent Froist was meeting with two of his own acquaintances, the theatre manager John Nash and his wife

Lil Hawthorne, an American musical singer. They had come in to Scotland Yard to voice their concerns about a friend of theirs named Cora Crippin, who like Hawthorne was a member of the Music Hall Ladies Guild.

Mrs. Crippin, who had also been a musical performer under the name Bell Immore, had apparently left England for America suddenly on the 2nd of February and died there on the 23rd of March.

Yet her friends were confused about what had really happened.

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