Anne Perry. Biography and complete works

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Author: Perry, Anne

Date and Place of birth:
b. Oct. 28, 1938, Blackheath, London, England

Life and Works:

Anne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in October, 28, 1938, in Blackheath, London, England, is a British historical novelist and convicted murderer.

The daughter of Dr. Henry Hulme, a physicist, Perry was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was sent by her family to the Caribbean and South Africa in search of healthier climates. She rejoined her family when her father took a position as rector of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Her schooling was very interrupted, both by frequent moves and by ill-health. Due partially to this she read a great deal, and had parents who gave she time and attention. Her parents also enjoyed reading, and so she had a lot of encouragement. In her early years, up until she was about 10 she enjoyed books by various authors including, Lewis Carroll and Charles Kingsley.

Together with her friend Pauline Parker, Perry murdered Parker's mother in June 1954. Perry's parents were in the process of separating, and Perry was supposed to go to South Africa to stay with a relative due to her ill health (including a severe bout with tuberculosis). The two girls had concocted a rich fantasy life populated with famous actors, including James Mason and Orson Welles, and they believed that Parker and Perry might instead go to England with Perry's father. Parker's mother, Honora Rieper (who never legally married Pauline's father), had objected to the closeness of the girls' friendship and Pauline's isolation from any other friends, and Pauline believed that her mother would block her from leaving New Zealand with Juliet. Pauline began to write in her diary that she wished her mother to die, and eventually hatched a murder plot that she shared with Juliet.

On June 22, 1954, the girls set a trap for Honora Rieper. While out for a walk, Juliet dropped a pretty stone so that Ms. Rieper would lean over to retrieve it. At that point, Pauline was to hit her mother with half of a brick wrapped in a stocking, and the girls presumed that would kill the woman. Instead, it took 45 blows from the brick to finally kill Honora Rieper; the brutality of the crime has contributed to its notoriety.

Parker and Perry stood trial in Christchurch in 1954, and were found guilty on August 29 of that year. As they were too young to be considered for the death penalty under New Zealand law at the time, they were convicted and sentenced to be "detained during Her Majesty's pleasure". In practice, this sentence meant they were to be detained at the discretion of the Minister of Justice. They were released separately some five years later.

These events formed the basis for the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, in which Kate Winslet portrayed the teenage Juliet Perry.

After being released from prison, Anne Perry returned to England and became a flight attendant. For a period she lived in the United States, where she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She later settled in the Scotitbussh village of Portmahomack.

Perry began writing mysteries set in Victorian London on a suggestion from her step- father as to who Jack the Ripper might have been. She found that she was totally absorbed by what happens to people under pressure of investigation, how old relationships and trusts are eroded, and new ones formed.

Perry's first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, took twenty years before it was accepted for publication, in 1979. During that time she had various jobs in order to earn an income: clerical, retail selling, fashion, air stewardess, ship and shore stewardess, limousine dispatcher in Beverly Hills and insurance underwriter.

Her works generally fall into one of several categories of genre fiction, including historical mystery novels and fantasy. Many of them feature a number of recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt, who appeared in her first novel, and William Monk, who first appeared in her 1990 novel The Face of a Stranger. As of 2003 she has published 47 novels, and several collections of short stories.

In March 2006, Perry said that while her relationship with Pauline Parker was obsessive, they were not lesbians, as (arguably) portrayed in the film Heavenly Creatures.

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