Anne Perry

One thing that can be said of the English author Anne Perry is she has had an interesting, if not notorious, life. She was born Juliet Marion Hulme in Blackheath, London on October 28, 1938. In her younger years she suffered from many illnesses that resulted in her missing a lot of her formal education. By the age of 13 she left school, never to return. This setback did not stop her from becoming a huge success in her writing career.

Another major event that occurred in Perry’s life that could have resulted in a different outcome for her career is her involvement in a murder. In 1954 she killed Honora Rieper with the aid of her friend Pauline, who was the victim’s daughter. Perry had such a fantasy filled mind that this could be where the germ for her later writing came from. After beginning a new life consisting of various jobs such as a flight attendant, Perry’s true love always remained writing. She began putting this talent to work in her early 20’s. It wasn’t until her late 30’s that she was published for the first time. She has been unstoppable since.

With a suggestion from her stepfather about trying to write mysteries she became engrossed with the people involved in investigations like the Jack the Ripper case. Her “Monk” series explores different, dark characters especially those that cannot remember the murderous acts that they committed. She continues to write Victorian mysteries due to loving those characters and the time period.