The material for thousands of crime novels and films can be found in the real history of British crime in the 20th century. In sharp contrast to the nation's image of respectability - or perhaps because of it - British criminals spent the last 100 years poisoning their spouses, robbing banks, holding up mail trains and engaging in the full spectrum of organised nefariousness. Here, we see the faces behind the stories and legends from Crippen, through the Krays and the Great Train Robbers, to the crooks of the recent past.