Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins
    The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins
    The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins

    Written by John Pearson

    Narrated by Martin Shaw

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Heroes or villains? In the 1960’s London’s gangland was ruled by two men – Reggie and Ronnie Kray. Building an empire of crime by intimidation, extortion and terror on a scale never seen before or since, they feted stars of stage and screen, sportsmen and even politicians to gain the respectability they craved. Listen to the story of the rise and fall of the Krays. On the 17th March 1995, Ronnie Kray died suddenly of a heart attack while serving a life sentence for murder. His funeral was watched by over 50,000 people. Reggie died of cancer in 2000. Read by acclaimed actor Martin Shaw, probably most famous for his role as Doyle in The Professionals, he is hugely respected and talented and a regular favourite on TV and in the theatre.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Copyright Group
    Release dateJan 1, 2014
    ISBN9781780002231
    Author

    John Pearson

    John Pearson is the author of All the Money in the World (previously titled Painfully Rich), now a major motion picture directed by Ridley Scott film and starring Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg and Christopher Plumber (nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). He is also the author of The Profession of Violence, on which the Tom Hardy film Legend is based, and the follow-up, The Cult of Violence. Born in Surrey, England in 1930, Pearson worked for Economist, The Times, and The Sunday Times, where he was the assistant of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond. Pearson published the definitive biography of Fleming, The Life of Ian Fleming in 1966. Pearson has since written many more successful works of both fiction and non-fiction. Biographies remain his specialty with accomplished studies of the Sitwells, Winston Churchill and the Royal Family.

    Related to The Profession of Violence

    Related audiobooks

    Crime Thriller For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Legend of Robin Hood

      May 12, 2023

      The Legend of Robin Hood
      4 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Miss This Week…

      May 9, 2022

      Colin Firth stars as Michael Peterson, a writer accused of murdering his wife Kathleen (Toni Collette, right with Colin), in this gripping crime drama based on a true story. It explores Michael’s life as authorities investigate further into the death

      1 min read

    • Article

      TV Picks

      Oct 6, 2020

      TV Picks
      1 min read

    • Article

      STAND & DELIVER

      Oct 8, 2021

      “The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding – Riding – riding – The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.” Many a schoolchild has thrilled to Alfred Noyes’ popular ballad ‘The Highwayman’ (1906)

      4 min read

    • Article

      TV, FILM & RADIO

      Dec 29, 2020

      TV, FILM & RADIO
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un's Notes

      Apr 3, 2024

      * Stone me! This 12 May marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tony Hancock (1924-68), the wonderfully lugubrious comedian with his trademark homburg and astrakhan-collared coat, and the somewhat dilapidated lodgings at 23 Railway Cuttings, East

      5 min read

    • Article

      What to WATCH

      Oct 6, 2020

      What to WATCH
      2 min read

    • Article

      Get Hooked

      Aug 6, 2020

      By Dr Philip Matyszak (Michael O'Mara, 2017) What was it like to live in one of the ancient world's most powerful and bustling cities – one that was eight times more densely populated than modern-day New York? Philip Matyszak introduces us to the p

      1 min read

    • Article

      Flashback

      Nov 23, 2021

      Flashback
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Dead Phenomenon

      Aug 19, 2021

      The Dead Phenomenon
      3 min read

    • Article

      Larry King, Talk-show Titan Who Lit Up Worlds Of Politics And Showbiz

      Jan 23, 2021

      A measure of Larry King’s impact on American television journalism was that for three decades, the easiest way of giving fictional cinematic politicians credibility was a scene in which they appeared on King’s CNN show. His peak year was 1998, in whi

      5 min read

    • Article

      Happy Trails

      Oct 18, 2022

      OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN guaranteed a place of honor for herself in the pantheon of pop culture with her spirited performance in the smash-hit film Grease (1978), and repeatedly climbed the Top 40 charts with singles ranging from the wistfully romantic “I

      2 min read

    • Article

      Icons Of An Era: Defining The 1920s

      Jan 22, 2020

      Published on April 10, 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald started writing the novel earlier in the decade, soon after the cessation of the First World War. In contrast to the preceding years of deprivation, the characters of millionaire Jay Gatsby and flapper

      4 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Miss This Week…

      Mar 11, 2024

      This exhibition comprises more than 50 previously unseen photographs of stars including Marilyn Monroe (right, with Arthur Miller in 1957), Robert Redford, Muhammad Ali and The Rolling Stones, by photographers such as Terry O’Neill and Gered Mankowit

      1 min read

    • Article

      Christmas Prize Quiz

      Oct 18, 2023

      1 Who was the only actor to appear in all 295 episodes of Last of the Summer Wine? 2 The album version uses the name ‘CocaCola’ and the single uses ‘cherry cola’ instead, to avoid a BBC ban. Who flew from Minneapolis to London just to sing the words

      2 min read

    • Article

      This Month In History

      Oct 26, 2023

      This Month In History
      2 min read

    • Article

      MeTV Makes Classic TV a Great Escape for Everyone

      Aug 11, 2022

      Set during the Korean War, CBS’s military medical show—influenced by the tumultuous Vietnam era—offered a darkly humorous critique of life on and off the battlefield. But the heart of the 1972–83 series was always the characters who inhabited the 40

      1 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Miss This Week…

      Oct 24, 2022

      Devoted mother Christine Rees is grieving a tragic loss when a stranger contacts her family, claiming an extraordinary connection that reveals secrets and divides loyalties. Bafta winner Rakie Ayola stars with Jordan Wilks (both right) and Elizabeth

      1 min read

    • Article

      Golden Grahams

      Dec 7, 2023

      Back in the 90s, writer-director John Sayles was a big deal. For cinephiles, at least. Building on the string of quality, genre-hopping titles he'd made in the 80s – Return of the Secaucus 7, Lianna, Baby It's You, The Brother from Another Planet, Ma

      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Aug 31, 2023

      Reading about Roger Mortimer's 14thcentury escape from the Tower of London (The King of Folly, August) reminded me of another remarkable breakout from the fortress – with equally dramatic consequences. In April 1660, John Lambert, the Roundhead major

      3 min read

    • Article

      TV, FILM & RADIO

      Nov 23, 2023

      TV, FILM & RADIO
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Profession of Violence

    3.5/5

    37 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I could have done without the corny pop music intros for each chapter. Most of the events covered in this book took place in the 50s/60s. We get it.
    • 4/5
      The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by John Pearson is a factual recounting of the lives of the Kray brothers, twins Reggie and Ronnie. This famous duo were not criminal master-minds with a great intelligence but psychopathic thugs using violence and fear to control others. They successfully used brutality and terror to swindle and exhort in order to build an empire of organized crime in London during the 1950s and 60s.The Brothers had the special bond of being identical twins, although most people found Reggie the more charming of the two, Ronnie appeared to be the more dominant twin. Ronnie had been certified insane during one of his stays in prison, but Reggie still chose to support and follow him in most things. They were doomed to disaster as their antics got more and more violent and witnesses grew more determined to come forward. When the intelligent Inspector Nipper Read was put on their case, these two were finally brought to justice.The author used a flat, matter-of-fact tone to tell this story, I suspect he was trying not to glorify the subject matter, but, for me, this deadpan delivery took away from the intricate and fascinating story, giving it the flavor of a newspaper report. I read a lot of British crime stories and the Kray Brothers have come into my reading many times either directly or by reference, so I was pleased to have been able to read such a factual account of their lives.
    • 4/5
      Rereading this book many years later I can't help but feel that Reggie Kray might have been quite a successful business man without the need to resort to crime in order to achieve what he felt was important in life, wealth and power. However he was the second half of a demented twin, and Ronnie's life was always going to end in sadness and violence. Reggie choose to support his brother and together they built an empire of crime which was doomed to disaster as the antics of the Krays became more violent and bizarre. Added to this mix we have the highly intelligent Inspector "Nipper" Read determined to see the bad guys brought to justice and peace restored to the streets of London.