Anne Perry (born Juliet Marion Hulme; 28 October 1938 – 10 April 2023) was a British writer and murderer. She was the author of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt and William Monk series of historical detective fiction. In 1994 it became public knowledge that Perry had been convicted of murder in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, in 1954, when she was fifteen. She and her sixteen-year-old friend Pauline Parker murdered Parker's mother, Honorah. After serving a five-year sentence for the murder, Perry had changed her name (formerly Juliet Hulme) and returned to the United Kingdom. She was identified by the media following the release of the film ''

Heavenly Creatures ''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh. It stars Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their feature film debuts, with Sarah Peirse, Dian ...

'', directed by

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

, which is based on the case.

Early life

Born in London, the daughter of physicist Henry Rainsford Hulme, Hulme was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

as a child and sent to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, South Africa, and New Zealand in hopes that a warmer climate would improve her health. She rejoined her family after her father took a position as rector of Canterbury University College in New Zealand. She attended Christchurch Girls' High School, located in what became the Cranmer Centre. A 1948 ''

Auckland Star The ''Auckland Star'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 16 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Star'', part of its name endures in ''The Sunday Star-Times'', created i ...

'' photograph of Hulme arriving in New Zealand was discovered by Auckland Libraries staff in 2012 and written about in the ''Heritage et AL'' blog.

Murder and trial

In June 1954, at the age of 15, Hulme and her best friend Pauline Parker murdered Parker's mother, Honorah Rieper. Hulme's parents were in the process of separating and she was supposed to go to South Africa to stay with a relative. The two teenage friends, who had created a complicated fantasy life together populated with celebrities such as

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...

and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

, did not want to be separated. On 22 June 1954, the girls and Rieper went for a walk in Victoria Park in the Port Hills of

. On an isolated path, Hulme dropped an ornamental stone so that Rieper would lean over to retrieve it. Parker had planned to hit her mother with half a brick wrapped in a stocking. The girls presumed that one blow would kill her but it took more than 20. Parker and Hulme stood trial in Christchurch in 1954 and were found guilty on 28 August. 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

at Her Majesty's pleasure At His Majesty's pleasure (when the reigning monarch is female, at Her Majesty's pleasure), sometimes abbreviated to the King's pleasure (or the Queen's pleasure), is a term of art in public law and in penal law. In public law, it refers to the ...

". They were released separately five years later. At the time of Perry's death in 2023, Parker and Perry were not believed to have had any contact since the trial. The events formed the basis for the 1994 film ''

'', in which

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American accents, she works predominantly in independent films and television. She is the recipient of numerous ...

portrayed a teenaged Pauline Parker and

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...

played the teenaged Juliet Hulme. At the time of the film's release, it was not generally known that mystery author Anne Perry was Juliet Hulme; her identity was made public after journalists tracked her down some months after the film's release. Although some presumed Hulme and Parker's relationship to be sexual, Perry stated in 2006 that, while the relationship was obsessive, the two "were never lesbians".

Later life

After being released from prison in November 1959, Perry returned to England and became a

flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

. For a period she lived in the United States, where she joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

in 1968. She later settled in the Scottish village of

Portmahomack Portmahomack (; 'Haven of My .e. 'Saint'Colmóc') is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about from the village at the end of the Tar ...

, where she lived with her mother. Her father had a distinguished scientific career, heading the

British hydrogen bomb programme The British hydrogen bomb programme was the ultimately successful British effort to develop hydrogen bombs between 1952 and 1958. During the early part of the Second World War, Britain had a nuclear weapons project, codenamed Tube Alloys. At the ...

. Hulme took the name Anne Perry, using her stepfather's surname. Her first novel, ''

The Cater Street Hangman ''The Cater Street Hangman'' is a crime novel by Anne Perry. It is the first in a series which features the husband-and-wife team of Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. Plot introduction ''The Cater Street Hangman'' introduces Thomas Pitt (fictional ch ...

'', was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several categories of

genre fiction In the book-trade, genre fiction, also known as formula fiction, or commercial fiction,Girolimon, Mars"Types of Genres: A Literary Guide" Southern New Hampshire University, 11 December 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2024. encompasses fictional ...

, including historical murder mysteries and

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

. Many feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, who appeared in her first novel, and

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...

c private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in her 1990 novel ''The Face of a Stranger''. After Perry's identity as Hulme was revealed in 1994, she said: She continued writing and said that she was surprised that her friends stuck by her despite the revelation of her identity and the ensuing media attention. In 1998 she was featured by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' in its list of 100 "masters of crime". Her story "Heroes", which first appeared in the 1999 anthology ''Murder and Obsession'', edited by

Otto Penzler Otto Penzler (born July 8, 1942) is an American editor of mystery fiction, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. Biography Born in Germany to a German-American mother and a German father, Penzler moved to The Bronx at ag ...

, won the 2000

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best Short Story. In 2005, Perry appeared on the '' Trisha'' show to discuss her murder conviction on a special themed show. A 2009 documentary film, ''Anne Perry Interiors'', gave a snapshot of her life and the people close to her. In 2009 she received a lifetime achievement award at the

Agatha Awards The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expli ...

. In 2013 and 2020 she was a guest of honour at the

Bouchercon Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher, and pronounced the w ...

mystery fiction convention. At the time of her death in 2023, Perry had published 102 books: 32 novels in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, 6 novels in the Daniel Pitt series, 24 novels in the Monk series, five books in her WWI series, five books in her Elena Standish series, four young adult novels, two fantasy novels, and 22 mystery novellas with Christmas themes, as well as a number of essays and short stories. Her UK publisher, Headline, reported that she had sold 25 million copies. Her works regularly appeared on ''The New York Times'' bestseller list. In 2017, Perry left Scotland and moved to the USA in order to more effectively promote films based on her novels. She had a heart attack in December 2022, and died at a hospital in Los Angeles on 10 April 2023, aged 84. Her novel ''The Fourth Enemy'', the sixth Daniel Pitt novel, was published the day after her death.

Bibliography

Each series is listed in internal chronological order, according to the author's website. Perry's two main series each feature a male and a female protagonist. Thomas Pitt is matched with his wife Charlotte, while William Monk is matched with Hester Latterly, a

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

nurse. The Monk mysteries are set earlier in the Victorian era (1850s–1860s) than the Pitt books (1880s–1890s).

Featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt

# ''

'' (1979) # ''Callander Square'' (1980) # ''Paragon Walk'' (1981) # ''Resurrection Row'' (1981) # ''Rutland Place'' (1983) # ''Bluegate Fields'' (1984) # ''Death in the Devil's Acre'' (1985) # ''Cardington Crescent'' (1987) # ''Silence in Hanover Close'' (1988) # ''Bethlehem Road'' (1990) # ''Highgate Rise'' (1991) # ''Belgrave Square'' (1992) # ''Farrier's Lane'' (1993) # ''The Hyde Park Headsman'' (1994) # ''Traitors Gate'' (1995) # ''Pentecost Alley'' (1996) # ''Ashworth Hall'' (1997) # ''Brunswick Gardens'' (1998) # ''Bedford Square'' (1999) # ''Half Moon Street'' (2000) # ''The Whitechapel Conspiracy'' (2001) # ''Southampton Row'' (2002) # ''Seven Dials'' (2003) # ''Long Spoon Lane'' (2005) # ''Buckingham Palace Gardens'' (2008) # ''Betrayal at Lisson Grove'' (US title: ''Treason at Lisson Grove'') (2011) # ''Dorchester Terrace'' (2012) # ''Midnight at Marble Arch'' (2013) # ''Death on Blackheath'' (2014) # ''The Angel Court Affair'' (2015) # ''Treachery at Lancaster Gate'' (2016) # ''Murder on the Serpentine'' (2017)

Featuring Daniel Pitt

# ''Twenty-One Days'' (2018) # ''Triple Jeopardy'' (2019) # ''One Fatal Flaw'' (2020) # ''Death with a Double Edge'' (2021) # ''Three Debts Paid'' (2022) # ''The Fourth Enemy'' (2023)

Featuring Hester Latterly and William Monk

# ''The Face of a Stranger'' (1990) # ''A Dangerous Mourning'' (1991) # ''Defend and Betray'' (1992) # ''A Sudden, Fearful Death'' (1993) # ''The Sins of the Wolf'' (1994) # ''Cain His Brother'' (1995) # ''Weighed in the Balance'' (1996) # ''The Silent Cry'' (1997) # ''A Breach of Promise'' (alt. title: ''Whited Sepulchres'') (1997) # ''The Twisted Root'' (1999) # ''Slaves of Obsession'' (alt. title: ''Slaves and Obsession'') (2000) # ''A Funeral in Blue'' (2001) # ''Death of a Stranger'' (2002) # ''The Shifting Tide'' (2004) # ''Dark Assassin'' (2006) # ''Execution Dock'' (2009) # ''Acceptable Loss'' (2011) # ''A Sunless Sea'' (2012) # ''Blind Justice'' (2013) # ''Blood on the Water'' (2014) # ''Corridors of the Night'' (2015) # ''Revenge in a Cold River'' (2016) # ''An Echo of Murder'' (2017) # ''Dark Tide Rising'' (2018)

Featuring Elena Standish

# ''Death in Focus'' (2019) # ''A Question of Betrayal'' (2020) # ''A Darker Reality'' (2021) # ''A Truth To Lie For'' (2022) # ''The Traitor Among Us'' (2023)

The World War I series

# ''No Graves As Yet'' (2003) # ''Shoulder the Sky'' (2004) # ''Angels in the Gloom'' (2005) # ''At Some Disputed Barricade'' (2006) # ''We Shall Not Sleep'' (2007)

The Christmas stories

# ''A Christmas Journey'' (2003) # ''A Christmas Visitor'' (2004) # ''A Christmas Guest'' (2005) # ''A Christmas Secret'' (2006) # ''A Christmas Beginning'' (2007) # ''A Christmas Grace'' (2008) # ''A Christmas Promise'' (2009) # ''A Christmas Odyssey'' (2010) # ''A Christmas Homecoming'' (2011) # ''A Christmas Garland'' (2012) # ''A Christmas Hope'' (2013) # ''A New York Christmas'' (2014) # ''A Christmas Escape'' (2015) # ''A Christmas Message'' (2016) # ''A Christmas Return'' (2017) # ''A Christmas Revelation'' (2018) # ''A Christmas Gathering'' (2019) # ''A Christmas Resolution'' (2020) # ''A Christmas Legacy'' (2021) # ''A Christmas Deliverance'' (2022) # ''A Christmas Vanishing'' (2023)

The Christmas Collections

# ''An Anne Perry Christmas: Two Holiday Novels'' (2006) – contains ''A Christmas Journey'' (2003) and ''A Christmas Visitor'' (2004) # ''Anne Perry's Christmas Mysteries: Two Holiday Novels'' (2008) – contains ''A Christmas Guest'' (2005) and ''A Christmas Secret'' (2006) # ''Anne Perry's Silent Nights: Two Victorian Christmas Mysteries'' (2009) – contains ''A Christmas Beginning'' (2007) and ''A Christmas Grace'' (2008) # ''Anne Perry's Christmas Vigil: Two Victorian Holiday Mysteries'' (2011) – contains ''A Christmas Promise'' (2009) and ''A Christmas Odyssey'' (2010) # ''Anne Perry's Christmas Crimes: Two Victorian Holiday Mysteries'' (2014) – contains ''A Christmas Homecoming'' (2011) and ''A Christmas Garland'' (2012) # ''Anne Perry's Merry Mysteries: Two Victorian Holiday Novels'' (2015) – contains ''A Christmas Hope'' (2013) and ''A New York Christmas'' (2014)

Fantasy

# ''Tathea'' (2000) # ''Come Armageddon'' (2002)

Timepiece series (young adult novels)

# ''Tudor Rose'' (2011) # ''Rose of No Man's Land'' (2011) # ''Blood Red Rose'' (2012) # ''Rose Between Two Thorns'' (2012)

Other books

* ''The One Thing More'' (2000) * ''A Dish Taken Cold'' (2001) * ''I'd Kill For That'' (2004, one novel co-written by multiple authors) * ''Letters From The Highlands'' (2004) * ''Heroes'' (2011) * ''The Sheen on the Silk: A Novel'' (2010) * ''The Scroll'' (2014)

Short stories in anthologies

*''Death by Horoscope'' (2001, anthology of short stories by various authors, including Perry, and edited by Perry) * ''Much Ado About Murder'' (2002, anthology of short stories by various authors, including Perry, and edited by Perry) * ''Death By Dickens'' (2004, anthology of short stories by various authors, including Perry, and edited by Perry) * ''Thou Shalt Not Kill: Biblical Mystery Stories'' (2005, anthology of short stories by various authors, including Perry, and edited by Perry)

Critical studies, reviews and biography

*Drayton J. (2012) ''The Search for Anne Perry,'' HarperCollins''.'' *Graham P. (2011).''So Brilliantly Clever: Parker, Hulme and the murder that shocked the world.'' Awa Press''.;'' re-issued in 2013 as Graham P. (2013) ''Anne Perry and the murder of the century''. Skyhorse Publications *

References

External links

*
Original Newspaper articles of the trial

Fantastic Fiction's Anne Perry page
* *

Interview with Anne Perry
''A DISCUSSION WITH National Authors on Tour'' TV Series, Episode #76 (1994)
Interview with Anne Perry
''Speaking of Mysteries TV Series'' (2001) {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Anne 1938 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English criminals 20th-century English writers 20th-century New Zealand writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century English writers 21st-century New Zealand writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Agatha Award winners British female murderers English women short story writers Converts to Mormonism Edgar Award winners English Latter Day Saints English crime fiction writers English expatriates in the United States English fantasy writers English mystery writers English people convicted of murder British people imprisoned abroad Female juvenile murderers Literature controversies Minors convicted of murder New Zealand Latter Day Saints New Zealand crime fiction writers New Zealand fantasy writers New Zealand female murderers New Zealand mystery writers New Zealand women short story writers People convicted of murder by New Zealand People educated at Christchurch Girls' High School Writers from Christchurch Pseudonymous women writers English women historical novelists British women mystery writers English women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers of historical mysteries