The Search For Anne Perry: The Hidden Life Of A Bestselling Crime, The - Hardcover

Drayton, Joanne

3.28

1,074 ratings by Goodreads

9781443417822: The Search For Anne Perry: The Hidden Life Of A Bestselling Crime, The

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1443417823 ISBN 13: 9781443417822

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012

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Until 1994, the world knew Anne Perry as the writer of bestselling crime fiction at the peak of her writing career. But following the release of Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures about the sensational 1954 Parker-Hulme murders, came the shocking revelation that Anne Perry started life as Juliet Hulme, the teenager jointly convicted of murdering her friend’s mother. Life would never be the same for Anne. That a convicted murderer had gone on to become a celebrated crime writer with worldwide sales of over 25 million books was tantalizing enough. But careful analysis of her writing reveals that these were more than simple crime stories; spiritual and philosophical complexities thread the way through Anne Perry’s works and the characters she creates. Was Anne, in fact, revealing more about herself in the characters she was creating?

Acclaimed biographer Joanne Drayton takes on the challenge of exploring Anne Perry’s writing to uncover her world view and her compulsion to write. The famously private Perry agreed to be comprehensively interviewed for the book and has allowed Joanne unparalleled access to her friends, relatives, colleagues and archives. The result is a compelling read with revelations that will resonate with the reader long after the final page.

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About the Author:

JOANNE DRAYTON is Associate Professor in the Department of Design at UNITEC, Auckland. Her critically acclaimed 2008 Ngaio Marsh: Her Life in Crime was a Christmas pick of the UK Guardian in 2008. This is her fifth biography.

Review:

"A pleasure for Perry's loyal fans and a book that is likely to win her some new ones as well . . . Drayton tells a beguiling story of an author's climb to the best-seller lists and how a secret she would rather keep hidden was publicly made known." Kirkus Reviews
"A solid, well-documented literary biography. Drayton . . . examines Perry’s many novels in light of her earlier life, showing how some of her books’ themes reflect the turmoil and violence of her younger years and, in effect, showing how, though Perry might have left Hulme’s identity behind, the environment that shaped her younger life has also shaped her literary life." Booklist
The Search for Anne Perry is a terrific biography and absolutely ingeniously structured.” Terry Castle, cultural commentator and author of The Professor and Other Writings
Important . . . revelatory, insightful, wonderfully researched, and powerfully written.” Weekend Herald (New Zealand)
A deeper and more important story than it’s ever seemed before.” Toronto Star
Builds a complex picture of the world of past crime, public success, work and private pain. . . . Drayton makes her case with insight and compassion.” New Zealand Listener
A fascinating book.” Herald on Sunday
Daring . . . Drayton is allowed an unprecedented level of access into the world of Anne Perry, and weaves in both her life and the lives in her crime novels to illustrate the story of a truly fascinating character.” Time Out
As riveting as the best of acclaimed author Anne Perry’s own fiction . . . [Drayton] opens windows.” Vancouver Sun

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