The Profession of Violence

The Profession of Violence
Author: John Pearson
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2013-03-25
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1448211409

The classic, bestselling account of the infamous Kray twins, now a major film, LEGEND, starring Tom Hardy. Reggie and Ronald Kray ruled London's gangland during the 1960s with a ruthlessness and viciousness that shocks even now. Building an empire of organised crime such as nobody has done before or since, the brothers swindled, intimidated, terrorised, extorted and brutally murdered. John Pearson explores the strange relationship that bound the twins together, and charts their gruesome career to their downfall and imprisonment for life in 1969. Now expanded to include further extraordinary revelations, including the unusual alliance between the Kray twins and Lord Boothby – the Tory peer who won £40,000 in a libel settlement when he denied allegation of his association with the Krays – The Profession of Violence is a truly classic work. John Pearson is also 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 Plummer (nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor).

My Story

My Story
Author: Ronald Kray
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Total Pages: 192
Release: 1994-10-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780330335072

Following on from Our Story, Ron Kray fills in the gaps and gives his version of the murders of Jack The Hat McVitie and George Cornell, describing his bisexuality and his marriage in Broadmoor and clarifying many of the misconceptions about the years when he and Reg ruled the London underworld, shot enemies at will and simultaneously socialized with some of the most glittering politicians, celebrities and hostesses of the time.

Krayzy Days

Krayzy Days
Author: Micky Fawcett
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2014-07-30
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 9781780035253

Krayzy Days is the true story of the East End underworld between the late 1950s and 1980s, Including the infamous Kray twins and the man who was part of their intimate circle. Micky Fawcett paints a vivid picture of life with and beyond the krays as well as the murderous war of the 70s which saw the East End gangs vying for position in the vacuum left by the twins' imprisonment, with countless knifings and shootings, not to mention frequent bombings and murders. With unprecedented insight into the private life of a man whom even the Krays respected - the notorious Billy Hill - Micky not only details Hill's criminal dealings with men such as Marcel Francisci, the Boss of the Union Corse, but also divulges facts regarding Hill's unconventional sex life that only his closest confidantes knew. This is Fawcett's fascinating account of an almost surreal world of sex, violence and paranoia, where one of the key rules was 'kill first or be killed'

The Krays and Me - Blood, Honour and Respect. Doing Porridge with The Krays

The Krays and Me - Blood, Honour and Respect. Doing Porridge with The Krays
Author: Charles Bronson
Publisher: Kings Road Publishing
Total Pages: 191
Release: 2007-04-30
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 178219245X

Two names reigned supreme in London's underworld in the sixties - Ronnie and Reggie Kray; and it wasn't until 1969 that the twins went down at Brixton Prison for murder. I was only seventeen, on remand up in Risley, Warrington, for nicking a furniture lorry. Most of the lads in there had newspaper photos of the Krays stuck up on their cell walls. They were the cream of the criminal crop, and that's why I took such an interest in 'em. Once I was put away, it wasn't long before I got to meet them, and over the next 29 years I got closer to the Krays than any self-proclaimed henchman, any autograph hunter. As their trusted friend they let me in on it all - no holds barred behind bars! Since Ronnie and Reggie died, all I've heard is a load of bollocks! 'Reggie shot my cat; Ronnie stabbed my uncle Bert 75 times; Reggie ran over my hamster; I'm Ronnie's son, I'm Reggie's daughter.' Gutless maggots spreading rumours with their sham stories for sale. The shameless rats. Well now the twins are gone and I can talk. And let me tell you, I've got a lot to say and all the time in the world to say it. No bollocks. No silly stories. Just the facts about the time I spent doing porridge with the Krays.

One of the Family

One of the Family
Author: Maureen Flanagan
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2015-07-02
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1473518563

40 YEARS WITH THE KRAYS is the untold, intimate history of the twins and the woman who raised them. Told with humour and insight, it looks back across the decades at the life of this close knit, notorious East End family. Maureen Flanagan, a then 20 year old hairdresser started visiting the Kray family home in Vallance Road each week to give the twins’ mother, Violet, her weekly shampoo and set. Over the cups of tea and the rollers and hairpins, Violet began to confide in ‘Flan’ about her life, her incredible pride in her twins, the celebrities who visited her at their humble East End home - and her troubled relationship with her husband.

Bringing Down the Krays (A/I/E)

Bringing Down the Krays (A/I/E)
Author: Bobby Teale
Publisher: Ebury Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2012-06-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9780091948306

'It was a list of people he wanted to kill; he was going to kill. In that moment, I knew something had to be done. The Krays were out of control. The had the East End buttoned up too tight and someone had to undo it. I swallowed hard, realising that someone had to be me...' Bobby Teale and his brothers, David and Alfie, were the three men the Kray twins trusted most. They weren't in the Firm, they were closer than that. They were old family friends, confidants, companions... But then things changed. Witnessing Ronnie and Reggie become increasingly psychotic - taking murder, torture and rape to sickening new levels - Bobby knew he had to take action. Unknown to his brothers, he became a police informer; risking not just his own life but those of the people dearest to him too. Using the codename 'Phillips', he spent the next three years living on his wits, feeding back information to Scotland Yard. With bent cops on their side the Krays knew they had a grass in their midst, but before they could flush him out, Bobby's evidence saw the gangsters get locked up for life. Bobby fled the country, but now 40 years on he's back. And he wants to set the record straight. With the help of his brothers, the man brave enough to stand up to the Krays has rewritten history as we know it; dispelling the myths and tearing apart the gangsters' glamorous veneer to reveal the true, sadistic nature of Ronnie and Reggie. Crammed full of explosive, new revelations,Bringing Down The Kraysis the last great untold story of Britain's most infamous crime family.

Vicious, Elegant Bastards

Vicious, Elegant Bastards
Author: Jacky Hyams
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2022-03-03
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 075099990X

They ruled the streets of London in the 1960s. Half a century later, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, unrepentant purveyors of violence and murder, hold more fascination than ever before. Portrayed as charismatic gangsters on the big screen, the saga of the twins, their firm and their thirty-odd years behind bars is one that is determinedly and deliberately embellished with every passing year. Yet it is only recently that the stark, unvarnished truth about the twins has started to emerge after being so cunningly concealed behind the façade of charitable deeds and East End loyalties. Bestselling author Jacky Hyams has carefully re-examined some of the stories, the lies and the myths to reveal a very different portrait of the twins and those closest to them. She reveals the complexity of their relationships and their closest bonds, and contests the police's belief that Ronnie Kray senselessly murdered 'one of their own'. Ronnie Kray is said to have described he and his twin as 'vicious, elegant bastards'. It is one of the few truths ever uttered by either of them.

Reggie Kray's East End Stories

Reggie Kray's East End Stories
Author: Reggie Kray
Publisher: Sphere
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2010-07-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0748111980

The name Reggie Kray remains synonymous with London's East End to this day, and yet although much is known about Reg and his brother Ronnie's life of crime in the '50s and '60s, to date precious little has been revealed about their formative years. Reggie wrote his EAST END STORIES in the early 1990s, but they haven't seen the light of day until now. In the book, he recalls the close-knit East End community in which he and his brother grew up, the characters in his family and neighbourhood, and of course, the many villains he worked with. Filled with anecdotes about the area's most outlandish personalities and notorious criminals, and offering a fascinating journey around the Krays' 'manor' including their favourite haunts and business enterprises, the book paints a vivid portrait of a London that has long since disappeared.

Our Story

Our Story
Author: Reginald Kray
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2015-08-27
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 0283072431

London's most notorious gangsters, in their own words . . . The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller. The Kray twins were Britain's most notorious gangsters. Ruling London's underworld for more than a decade, as gang lords they were among the most powerful and feared men in the city. Photographed by David Bailey and even interviewed for television, they became celebrities in their own right and are infamous to this day. Ronnie and Reg's reign of terror ended on 8 March 1969 when they were sentenced to life with the recommendation that they serve at least thirty years. Ronnie ended his days in Broadmoor – his raging insanity only controlled by massive doses of drugs. Reg served almost three decades in some of Britain's toughest jails before being released on compassionate grounds in August 2000. He died of cancer eight months later. Compiled from a series of interviews with Fred Dinenage from behind prison walls, Our Story is the classic account that explodes the myths surrounding the Kray twins. In it, the twins set the record straight. In their own words they tell the full story of their brutal career of crime and their years behind bars. With an introduction from Fred Dinenage, this compelling, disturbing and highly readable book is the definitive story of two legendary criminals.