The Crimes of Dr Gramshaw

Downfall of a Yorkshire Doctor

by Rosemary Cook

Dr Gramshaw was a successful family doctor in Yorkshire for thirty-five years, until his final desperate actions brought his professional and personal life crashing down around him. It was Easter 1908 when he called at the Glynn Hotel in York to attend to a young woman called Margaret Brown, who had been his patient before and who wanted his advice again. By the end of the month, Margaret was dead and a Coroner’s inquest was uncovering a lot of uncomfortable information about the young governess and the doctor who tried to help her.

This is a fascinating and shocking story of love and lust, success and deceit, crimes and lies, adultery, bigamy and insanity. The events in it are true, reconstructed by detailed research into public records. As the truth emerges about the lies, deceits and crimes that infiltrated Dr Gramshaw’s life, we are left to wonder: did anyone know about these before the final tragedy occurred? Should his family have seen what was happening? And why, when he was so popular, successful and respected that even after his exposure 1000 people attended his funeral, did Dr Gramshaw throw it all away so recklessly?

Author news

TV programme based on 'The Nightingale Shore Murder' Sunday 23 December 2018

Watch 'Agatha and the Truth of Murder' which tells the fictional story of Agatha Christie trying to solve this real life murder, as part of primetime Christmas viewing this year.

Solving The Nightingale Shore Murder!'

I will be talking about this book locally on 20 March 2020 at 2pm at Haxby Memorial Hall, in this 100th anniversary year of the murder. I will be inviting the audience to solve the murder. They will hear the witness statements, see the physical evidence, and hear the theories and conjecture. Then I'll asking the jury to decide, 'on the balance of probabilities', who killed Florence Nightingale Shore. Who knows what they will decide ...

Reviews of the first edition:
"A riveting read" - Nursing Standard

"A fascinating account of the murder mystery as well as the Shore family history" - Jeremy Stone, Shore family descendent

"I found myself hooked on what is a truly compelling story ... a tour de force for nursing history" - Ruth Davies, Editor, Royal College of Nursing History of Nursing Society Newsletter

"This fascinating murder mystery has it all - intrigue, historical insight about contemporary nursing during the first world war, and family drama ... for anyone who love true life crime and nursing, this is a must read" - Jenni Middleton, Editor, Nursing Times

Plus 4.5 stars from Amazon reviewers!

The Nightingale Shore Murder was joint winner of the historical non-fiction category of the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

The book was also featured in the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? magazine in August 2012, and at the Chalfont St Giles Literary Festival in 2014.

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About the Author

Rosemary Cook

Rosemary Cook CBE is a former Director of the Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI), and a former steering group member of the Royal College of Nursing's History of Nursing Society.

She discovered a brief mention of a nurse murdered on a train in the archives of the QNI, and researched the story for two years before publishing The Nightingale Shore Murder. Rosemary lives in York where she is researching local medical and nursing history.

Rosemary's latest project is the history of the York Home for Nurses, during which she has found a new mystery to solve ...