Seven Dials lands ‘astonishing' story of Myra Hindley’s prison love affair by Sounes

Seven Dials has landed a "compelling account" of Myra Hindley’s prison love affair and escape attempt by Howard Sounes. 

Publisher Vicky Eribo acquired UK and Commonwealth rights for This Woman from Gordon Wise of Curtis Brown. The book will be published in hardback, e-book and audiobook on 12th May 2022. 

The publisher said: “In 1973, Myra Hindley, the most notorious woman in Britain, is serving a life sentence for the moors murders – a case that shocked the world. Behind bars she has fallen in love. When Hindley is refused parole, she plots an audacious escape, and persuades a prison officer (and former nun) to help her break free from London’s grim Holloway Prison. The women plan to run away together to Brazil.” 

Sounes’ account will draw on unseen prison files and new interviews with former prisoners, prison officers and detectives. The publisher described it as a story of “both manipulation and cackhandedness, of dubious allegiances, within and without prison walls”. 

Combined with Hindley’s story, the book will cover themes of “redemption and rehabilitation, the power of the human spirit, and the challenges of the prison system and how we engage with crime and punishment”. 

Eribo commented: “Howard Sounes has a track record second to none in the true crime market, and it is easy to see why with this book. This Woman has all the hallmarks of a genre-defining title with significant original research, a rich and compelling narrative, unbelievable plot details, and fascinating and quirky characters. Revealing the ‘most evil woman in Britain’ in a remarkable new light, this is an extraordinary story, brilliantly told.”