Earth to Earth

Cornwell approaches it with the tenacity of an investigative journalist, the sympathy of a social worker drawing up case notes and the descriptive capacity of a novelist. What differentiates his book from the mass of true life crime stories is its insistence on making vivid for us not only the loud horror of the Luxtons' deaths, but the 40 years of claustrophobic rage, bred in silence, that preceded them * New York Times *
Exceptional true crime in the tradition of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, a forensic examination of three mysterious killings but also an utterly absorbing portrait of a family, a region and a way of life.The new coda about Ted Hughes and the publication of the original book, fascinating in itself, adds a new, unsettling dimension to the whole story. A rich, compelling and powerful book. -- Simon Mason
John Cornwell marries the cool-headed forensic skills of the investigative journalist with the warmth and humanity of a true storyteller. The result is an utterly absorbing account of this great tragedy, revealing the many smaller, day-to-day tragedies which set a country family on the path to such a savage end. -- Ed Stourton
On first reading, a gripping true crime unravels before the reader; at a deeper level, it is a profound meditation on truth, reality, and what can, ultimately, be known. An instant classic. -- Judith Flanders
Earth to Earth is both chilling and thrilling, telling a mysterious story of the sequestered lives and tragic deaths of a Devon farming family. The account of the poet Ted Hughes's efforts to suppress the book will come as no surprise to anyone with reservations about this self-appointed shaman - a word only one syllable longer than 'sham'. -- John Banville
Earth to Earth is a family tragedy, a clinching argument for the importance of journalism and truth-seeking - and an irresistible storytelling treat from top to tail. -- John Self * The Times *
It stands the test of time today. This is a dark, penetrating, compulsive book. * The Spectator *
Welcome back, Earth to Earth . . . Penetrating thickets of rural suspicion, a painstaking trawl through the family archives to understand why the family was so wedded to their horribly old-fashioned and penny-pinching agricultural method, and the curious busybody involvement of local celebrity weirdo, the poet Ted Hughes. * Strong Words *
Earth to Earth, by John Cornwell, is a fully updated and revised edition of a true crime classic . . . there is a fascinating coda involving future Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, which adds an extra level of weirdness to an already strange and beguiling story. * Choice Magazine *