The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl:The LSD Murder That Rocked London's Summer of Love

The wealthy playboy, the beautiful French teenager, and the bad trip that put LSD on trial at the glamorous center of London’s Swinging Sixties—New York Times bestselling author John Glatt’s kaleidoscopic investigation into the murder case that shattered the Summer of Love.

In 1967, London was the capital of cool and Chelsea was its vibrant, colorful heart. At fashionable boutiques, cafes, and clubs, boys with long hair and girls in miniskirts mingled with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, and other rock royalty. Music and cultural revolution were in the air—and a burgeoning drug scene fueled both.

Aspiring model Claudie Delbarre, 18, was at the center of it all. The beautiful French teenager turned heads with her dramatic outfits and seemed on the verge of stardom. But on the morning of September 19th, her landlord made a horrific discovery: Claudie lay murdered on her bed.

The investigation led swiftly to Robert Lipman, a wealthy American playboy and avid drug user who had found unbounded pleasures among the Chelsea Set. After a transatlantic manhunt, Lipman was extradited back to Britain, where his attorneys mounted a stunning defense, claiming he was not guilty because he killed Claudie while on LSD.

Featuring cameo appearances by many of the era’s pop stars and celebrities, investigative journalist John Glatt’s gripping narrative reveals how drugs, sex, and music intertwined in a legendary time and place, finally exploding in a brutal killing that caused many to question the essence of the era. | Praise for John Glatt

“A compelling, disturbing, provocative, exciting true crime story of sex, drugs, rock and roll – and money and murder . . . an important social history that transports readers to London in the ‘Swinging Sixties,’ replete with legendary names and fascinating stories.” —David Fisher, New York Times bestselling author on The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl

“Passionately written, intricately reported, stylishly structured, fascinating . . . the best true crime book I've read in a very long time.” —John O’Connor, author of A Short, Strange Trip on The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl

“Shocking, riveting, and disturbing . . . John Glatt delivers highbrow journalism with integrity, grit, honesty and reliability—in a way only the best storytellers can . . . brilliant and respectful true crime at its best.” —M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author and creator of the Paper Ghosts podcast on The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl

“John Glatt is a master storyteller who deftly draws the reader into a fascinating era through the lens of a sensational murder, blending history with thrills to deliver a powerful and compelling read.” ―Michael Wolraich, author of The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age on The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl

“A real page-turner!” ―Holly George Warren, author of Janis: Her Life and Music on The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl

“A riveting tale . . . Glatt shines a light on Swinging London.” —Barney Hoskyn, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages on The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl

“John Glatt pulls aside the South Carolina Low Country’s curtain of Spanish moss and steps smoothly into its swamp of corruption, embezzlement, and murder.” ―Air Mail on Tangled Vines

“Readers will be swept up in this account.” —Booklist, STARRED Review for Tangled Vines

“A white-knuckle page-turner...must reading for true crime fans.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review for The Doomsday Mother

“Piercing … add this one to your beach bag.” —People Magazine on Golden Boy

“An in-depth look at an act that shocked the city’s elite.” —New York Post on Golden Boy | John Glatt is a journalist and New York Times bestselling author with more than two million copies of his books in print. His works include The Lost Girls, Live at the Fillmore East and West, The Playboy and the Chelsea Girl, and the Edgar Award–nominated Tangled Vines. With a journalism career spanning nearly four decades, his bylines have appeared in Newsweek, Airmail, the New York Post, the London Daily Telegraph, and The Tatler, among other outlets, and he has appeared on ABC’s 20/20, NBC’s Dateline, CNN, and on the Investigation Discovery and Oxygen networks. Though he has lived in New York since 1981, he is a native of London, and was a fifteen-year-old schoolboy when Claudie Delbarre’s murder occurred just blocks from his home in Chelsea. He now lives with his artist wife in the Catskill Mountains and can be found online at JohnGlatt.com.