An Evil Love

There has never been a more relentless murderer in British penal history than the Gloucester builder Frederick West, who escaped justice by hanging himself in Winson Green Prison on 1 January 1995. Charged at the time of his death with the murder of twelve young women – including his first wife and two of his own daughters – he was probably responsible for the deaths of many more in the course of his fifty-three years.
Despite the massive coverage given to the trial and conviction of Rosemary West, Frederick West himself remains an enigma, his life shrouded in mystery. West, a nondescript little gnome of a man with a ready smile, demonstrated none of the characteristics usually associated with a serial killer.
Geoffrey Wansell has had unparalleled access to West’s own explanations of his actions, including more than 150 hours of tape recordings West made. With the collaboration of the Official Solicitor, Wansell has also been given access to the views of the people who knew West throughout his life, including the social workers and psychiatrists who came into contact with him.
The book also draws on West’s own 100 page ‘autobiography’ – I Was Loved By An Angel – written during the last weeks of his life, as well as many previously unpublished letters and photographs.
Geoffrey Wansell’s definitive biography of Frederick West gives a unique insight into the mind of a serial killer, bringing not only an understanding of the motives behind his hideous crimes, but also an appreciation of the lessons society can learn from his behaviour. The life of Frederick West is, inevitably, an examination of the nature of evil itself.