Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham

Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham

On June 22, 1954, teenage friends Juliet Hulme--better known as bestselling mystery writer Anne Perry--and Pauline Parker went for a walk in a New Zealand park with Pauline's mother, Honora. Half an hour later, the girls returned alone, claiming that Pauline's mother had had an accident. But when Honora Parker was found in a pool of blood with the brick used to bludgeon her to death close at hand, Juliet and Pauline were quickly arrested, and later confessed to the killing. Their motive? A plan to escape to the United States to become writers, and Honora's determination to keep them apart. Their incredible story made shocking headlines around the world and would provide the subject for Peter Jackson's Academy Award-nominated film, Heavenly Creatures.

A sensational trial followed, with speculations about the nature of the girls' relationship and possible insanity playing a key role. Among other things, Parker and Hulme were suspected of lesbianism, which was widely considered to be a mental illness at the time. This mesmerizing book offers a brilliant account of the crime and ensuing trial and shares dramatic revelations about the fates of the young women after their release from prison. With penetrating insight, this thorough analysis applies modern psychology to analyze the shocking murder that remains one of the most interesting cases of all time.

The Editors: Peter Graham has worked as a film critic, food writer, translator, and film director, among other things. A Dictionary of the Cinema (1964 and 1968), Classic Cheese Cooking (1988 and 2004), and Mourjou: The Life and Food of an Auvergne Village (1998 and 2004) are some of his writings. He currently resides in Mourjou, France. Professor of Cinema Studies and Director of the Film Studies Department at King's College London, Ginette Vincendeau Journeys of Desire: European Actors in Hollywood (co-edited with Alastair Phillips, 2006), La Haine (2005), and Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris (2003) are some of her recent works.

She works at I.B. Tauris as the editor of the Cine-Files: French Film Guides series. Tauris, as well as Sight& Sound, BBC Radio 3 and 4, and the BBC World Service, is a regular film critic.