Mad Frank's Diary: A Chronicle of the Life of Britain's Most Notorious Villain

by Frankie Fraser

Mad Frankie Fraser has become a household name in the UK, known to millions as one of London's most notorious gangsters. His stories of his life of crime have become the stuff of legend and Mad Frankie's Diary delves into area he has never chosen or never dared to talk about prison escapes, unsolved murders, police corruption, bribery, extortion, wrongful convictions and even sex in prison! Taking the form of a diary, the book chronciles Frank's memories from each day of the year, recalling incidents from throughout Frank's colorful and eventful life in a way that makes his stories highly accessible and hugely entertaining. This unique book goes to show why Frank has cult status among his readers and the media at large.

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Marmalade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I've read about Frankie Fraser aka Mad Frank, it did go over a few bits I already knew but there was others that I didn't know about.

[David Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mad Frank’s Diary by Frankie Fraser with James Morton.


I have to say this was not the easiest book to review. Why was that? Well, it is not so much written, as comes across as if someone gave the subject a tape-recorder, one Frankie Fraser in this case, and said: Tell us all your memoirs, all your adventures and knowledge about the crime scene, and most especially the London crime scene, and we’ll knock it up into a decent book, and because we all know that the general public are fascinated by gangsters and crime and murder mysteries in all their guises, we’ll sell loads and all make a pot of money out of it.

If that’s true, and Frankie has indeed made some decent cash out of it, well, good on him, because for most of his life, as I am sure he would be the first to admit, he has got by, and got his family through, with income that has more often than not been made outside the law.

And the book is not strictly a diary either as you might expect, but just a whole load of random events, some of which Frankie was personally involved in, and some not, and they are simply listed in dated chronological order, days and months, but the year is ignored, so it could be 1939 or 1999, so there’s no real order of the events as they happened.

That said, it’s quite a fascinating book, and indeed Mr Fraser comes across as an very interesting man. His grandmother, if we are to believe, was a full blood native Canadian Indian, and when you come to glance at his picture you can certainly see the resemblance in that.

I have to confess that I wasn’t sure if Frankie Fraser was still alive or had passed over to the great prison in the sky, but sure enough, according to my internet research he is still with us, aged 90, at the time of writing, and living in sheltered accommodation in Peckham, London.

And guess what? You might be surprised to learn that in 2013 aged 89, he was issued with an ASBO, an Anti Social Behavioural Order, by the police after a dispute with another resident, or maybe you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that at all.

One of the things that came through from the book was his ongoing dispute with the Carter family or Carter gang, and I just want to say that whoever they are, they are absolutely no relation of yours truly!

Frankie Fraser served no less than forty-two years of his long life in borstal and prisons, and that is far too long for anyone, and we can all but hope that he enjoys a long, happy, and contented retirement. In later life he has become something of a cause celebre, with famous friends, and books aplenty, and tours and shows and even being invited to address University debating societies and the like. He seems to have enjoyed all that immensely, and why not?

If you have any interest in crime in general, and the London crime scene in particular, I am sure you will find enough stuff in this to keep you hooked. It’s a book you can dip into as often or as infrequently as you wish, as there is no continuity in it at all because of the way it is set up, so in effect they are numerous short stories, so if you like shorts then you will like this.

And it’s written, much as I guess it was dictated, in Cockney, and maybe that brings more immediacy and authenticity to it. For the uninitiated though, there will be a few puzzling sentences in there too, that’s for sure. But in the end I enjoyed the book, it was easy to read, and I enjoyed trying hard to understand the man and his life, though I am not sure that I ever managed to do exactly that.

You can read an extended review including a 45 minute video documentary on Frankie Fraser on my website at www.davidcarterbooks.co.uk

[James Tidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

'They say I've killed 40 people and who am I to disagree? I've always liked even numbers.'

Known as 'the Dentist' for using pliers to extract the teeth of those who owed money to his boss Charlie Richardson, Fraser was labelled by two Home Secretaries as the most dangerous man in Britain.

In 5 parts, Fraser takes us through 1: the early years, 2: the 1940s and 1950s, 3: the 1960s along with his involvement in the Richardsons and the Krays, 4: his 20 year stretch and 5: his life on the outside.

I am fascinated by the gangsters and criminals of London in the 20th century. The Krays, the Richardsons, Frankie Fraser etc. The books published by authors such as John Pearson the Profession of Violence and it's sequel the Cult of Violence, Roberta and Kate Kray and in this instance, James Morton and his books with Frankie Fraser are fine examples. I found it fascinating how Frankie, who passed away in 2014 aged 91, talks about his friends, enemies and other major criminals as though he is a walking encyclopedia, he also tells about his times in prisons such as Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs and Parkhurst.

[Jeremiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Franks a blagger