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Chloroform

Essex Murders

Whiteley's Folly

Gloucestershire Murders

Crooks Who Conned Millions

Notorious Blasted Rascal

Whiteley's Folly: the life and death of a salesman

Published by Sutton October 2004
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This is the rags to riches to murder story of William Whiteley, founder of Whiteleys stores Bayswater. This iconic larger-than-life character started his business with just one small shop and went on to manage an empire covering fourteen acres and employing 6,000 people. What was the secret of his success? And was genial Mr Whiteley quite the 'jolly good fellow' he purported to be? The world was shocked, when, in 1907 he was gunned down in his shop by Horace Rayner, a young man claiming to be his illegitimate son, and secrets emerged which Mr Whiteley would much rather have remained hidden.

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