My sister first introduced me to Anne Perry and her historical (Victorian era) detective fiction.
Her two most popular series are The Monk Mysteries set in the 1850s/60s and the Thomas Pitt Mysteries set in the 1880s/90s. She also has a WWI series and a Christmas series along with loads of other works.
Her evocation of The Victorian period (in the Pitt and Monk series) fully immerses the reader. Her attention to detail is exceptional when dealing with meals, clothing, habits, speech and manners, prejudices and trends, furnishings and style, bigotry and social class.
What some people may or may not know is that Anne Perry, along with her childhood friend Pauline Parker, murdered Parker’s mother when they were just fifteen.
This period of her young adult life (between 15 and 20 years of age) is the stuff stories are made of. Anne Perry (whose real name was Juliet Hulme) after serving her time (5 years in a New Zealand prison) returned to England and got on with her life. She became a Mormon, changed her name and diligently worked at living a good repentant life. Apparently Pauline did the same and the two women never had contact with each other again.
In 1994, Heavenly Creatures, a movie based on Perry and Pauline, starring Kate Winslet was released.
Her novel, The Cater Street Hangman (from the Thomas Pitt series) was adapted for the screen.
A prolific writer, her body of work is ever expanding and today at the age of 83 she is still writing.
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