The Drummond Affair: Murder and Mystery in Provence

1950s France. A British establishment figure. A shocking crime. A miscarriage of justice. The search for truth.

In 1952, in a peaceful corner of Provence, a farmer's son stumbled upon a terrible scene. Three bodies: a husband and wife shot dead, their ten-year-old daughter savagely beaten to death. They were all British. So begins one of the most notorious murder cases in French history.

Sir Jack Drummond was a senior advisor to the British government, a household name who was respected and admired. His fame made the case a cause celebre in France and resulted in the swift conviction of a local farmer, but questions about Drummond's life and death remain unanswered.

In this bold new investigation, Stephanie Matthews and Daniel Smith strip away the prejudice and propaganda to reveal a grave miscarriage of justice. A light is shone on Drummond's secret life in the shadows of the Cold War, painting a portrait of an enigmatic man who may not have been the innocent holidaymaker he appeared to be, and recasting one of the twentieth century's most notorious murders in a fascinating and important new light.


About the Author

Stephanie Matthews is a doctor who specialised in medical biochemistry and founded The Darwin Centre and The Young Darwinian. A consummate Francophile, when Stephanie came across the Drummond murders, she found a man who was not only a father figure in her specialties of biochemistry and nutrition but also a hero of the Second World War.

Daniel Smith has written over thirty non-fiction titles, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. His most recent narrative non-fiction includes The Peer and the Gangster (long-listed for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger) and Scandal at Dolphin Square.