The Search for Anne Perry, Joanne Drayton

The Book

    Joanne Drayton takes us all on a journey through the literary works of Anne Perry. This book begins with the revelation not long before Heavenly Creatures is released that Anne Perry is the new identity given to the teenage killer, Juliet Hulme. Drayton takes us through Perry's life in a non linear fashion. Interspersed with Anne Perry the writer, we see Juliet Hulme, the neglected child, Juliet Hulme, the teenager who became best friends with Pauline, and Anne Perry,  the woman trying to become a writer. 

    Drayton skillfully takes the readers through Anne's early works, the fights with her first publisher, how much work she put into self funding her early tours to support her books. We also get to see when she took on a new literary agent in America, and how good, and ruthless he was. And we see how much she grew as a writer. 

    It's also an inside look at how the publishing industry changed between the early 1980s and the mid 1990s. By the mid 2000s, all of the things that had been working for Anne, were changing. We see how the industry consolidated, and budgets became much more constrained. We also see how sensitive Anne was about being outed.

My Thoughts

    This book is remarkably honest for being an authorized biography. If Anne Perry and the Murder of Century is a cynical look at whether or not Juliet Hulme was repentant for her part in murdering her best friend's mother, this book treads right up to the edge of making her seem like she was a victim. Neither one of these looks is at all balanced. The lady was who she was. And she did what she did. 

    The question that should have been asked and was not, is this: What is the criminal justice system for? Do we really believe in rehabilitation or don't we? It seems the culture of New Zealand did and still does. Heavenly Creatures is a sympathetic film, The Search for Anne Perry, written by a New Zealander is also sympathetic. I find the Kiwi culture as it pertains to this case, fascinating. 

     And reading these accounts back to back, I see something else that is interesting. It is clear, Peter Graham had not closely read any of Anne's work. He certainly wasn't looking for parallels between Anne's characters and the people she knew. Not in the way Joanne Drayton was. And yet, he paints the portraits of the personalities revolving around Anne much better that she does. From him I can guess who might be whom in Anne's work, but from Drayton, well, it seems she believes they are mostly Anne. 

    I won't ever meet her now. I'm not certain I ever really wanted to. But I do love her work, and what it touches inside of me. From Anne Perry's sales, I am not alone. I think she was brave to continue to write, to continue to face down her demons. She was not guaranteed success. It wasn't easy when she got signed to become a best selling author. She worked very hard for it. And she brought me many moments of self reflection. 

    And had she not been famous, and that used as an excuse to out her, maybe nobody would have found out about what Pauline did after she was released. Pauline tried, and failed to become a Catholic nun, but she did not let that stop her from devoting the rest of her life to bettering the lives of developmentally challenged children. She did not seek fame or fortune. 

She did not want to be recognized. She only wanted to give back to the world. So for all of the trail blazing Anne Perry did, Hilary Nathan was better. Because she made a difference. 

    Hate them for what they did? I get it. We are all of us no better than who we are on the worst day of our lives, in the worst moment, where we do the absolute worst thing. But we are also as great as we are on the best day of our lives. It is in that duality where art thrives. We forget it at our peril, as every truly great tale reminds us.

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

    This book was sent to me from Wilmette Public Library. They do not stamp their books for the date received, so I do not know when they go it. It is a first edition, and it looks like this book was released in the US 2014. The copyright page dates from that time, so I expect it entered into their library at that time. The book seems well read by gentle readers. The outside, protective library cover is showing some signs of wear, but the book itself is holding up well. By reading the book this year, I have kept it in the collection for next year, as that is the general criteria used in selecting which books to weed out of a collection. This book costs $25.95 at the time of print. That is the price we will use. 

This Book                                                       $25.95

Reviewed on the Blog this Year                    $936.38

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