Product Description

John Pearson knows more about the Krays than anyone alive. THE KRAYS film was based on his book THE PROFESSION OF VIOLENCE and it was Pearson who exposed the Boothby connection in 1994. In 1967 the twins asked Pearson to write their biography. He remained a confidant of the family and the brothers throughout their trial and prison years. Now Pearson revisits the twins' criminal past and lays bare the truth behind the legend. Drawing upon a mass of first-hand interviews and private information he was unable to use while the Krays were still alive, he finally recounts the chilling untold story of the Twins.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23763 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

About the Author
John Pearson won the 'Author's Club Award' for best first novel. The Profession of Violence was acclaimed on its release, even in the US where it won the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award. Jonathan Keeble:

Customer Reviews

Disturbingly Compelling
Just what is it about the Krays that keeps us fascinated? Pearson's book, not written until the last Kray was dead and buried, still has the appeal of the original - we are drawn into the bygone world of the criminal fraternity of the Old East End, where the Kray twins held complete control over the lives (and souls) of their 'Firm', ruling them with the threat of violence and even death, but apparently keeping the streets 'safe' for the 'ordinary man'. Pearson is in no doubt about the true nature of the twins - he sees and depicts them as callous murderers, but in his attempt to analyse the roots of their behaviour, builds a fascinating picture of sibling rivalry and mental illness. 30 years after 'The Profession of Violence' he is now 'safe' to write truthfully about their murders and maimings, homosexuality and obsessions. The most worrying thing is that we find this world absolutely compelling, and I was sorry when I came to the end of the book. I would have liked to hear more about Vi Kray, as the driving force behind the twins in their early years, and the matriarch of this extraordinary family. A thoroughly absorbing read.

Another Classic From The No. 1 Kray Biographer
The legendary status bestowed upon the Kray Twins is largely due to John Pearson's groundbreaking 1972 biography 'The Profession of Violence'. Since this shocking introduction to gangland, originally released just a few years into their life sentences, there have been literally dozens of books containing the name 'Kray' within their title, very few of which even come close to Pearson's early masterpiece. Despite 'Profession...' being reissued four times it has taken almost thirty years for him to pen the sequel, but it has certainly been worth the wait. It is difficult to imagine there being anything new that could be written about the Twins, but Pearson somehow manages to give a completely new insight into their private lives, including the thoughts of their Mother and Father, gained from hours spent in their company in his position as the Twins' official biographer. Much of the 'new' material is now available due to agreements with key personnel that none of it should be made public while either of the Twins was still alive. The now infamous tales of the slaughtering of Cornell and McVitie have been told and retold and this book does not try and tell them again, but instead offers a 'behind the scenes' glimpse of the real men that were The Krays, in a way that only John Pearson could achieve. Another masterpiece from the master himself.

Astonishing
You should "Profession of Violence first" then move on to this follow up, written after the twins died.
I could not beleive what I was reading having been too young to remember the Krays. The fact that they ran rings aroudn the British Establishment to this extent, and became cult figures of such power in the underworld, is really quite astonishing.
These two books converted me to "truecrime" and make for compelling reading. You can learn more about the world of 60s Britain by readign these than you can from many history books.