Ludo and the Power of the Book | Ingrams, Richard

'A worthy memorial to a man whose campaigning against injustices was, probably more than any other single influence, responsible for the abolition of the death penalty in Britain' Literary Review



Richard Ingrams, co-founder of Private Eye and founding editor of The Oldie, first met Ludovic Kennedy in 1963; it was a friendship that would last for over four decades.



After a naval career and a failed attempt to become an MP, Ludo eventually found what came to be his true calling - the examination and exposé of miscarriages of justice. Ludo would stop at nothing to get justice, prepared to risk his reputation, popularity and social standing on these cases. It was Ludo who, better than anyone else, revealed the fallible nature of the British judicial system, the police force and the politicians who oversaw them, and confronted the cruel realities of capital punishment.



In Ludo and the Power of the Book Ingrams brings to life - drawing on Ludo's own writings and interviews with his friends and colleagues - Ludo's most renowned cases, which were some of the most scandalous and ignominious trials in the history of British justice: the Derek Bentley case of 1952; the hanging of Timothy Evans, falsely accused of killing his wife and child at 10 Rillington Place; the case of Patrick Meehan; the Luton post office murder; and the kidnapping and murder of baby Lindbergh.



Ludovic Kennedy believed reverently in the power of the book and Richard Ingram's fascinating and sensitive portrayal of him is a fitting testament to that.



'A lucid and affectionate portrait of one of the great journalists of his day' Observer



'Elegantly written, thought-provoking' The Lady