Profile of Anne Perry on Famous Like Me

Anne Perry (born October 28, 1938), born Juliet Hulme in England, is a British historical novelist and convicted murderer (see also Parker-Hulme Murder).

The daughter of Dr. Henry Hulme, a physicist, Perry was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was sent by her family to the Caribbean and South Africa in search of healthier climates. She rejoined her family when her father took a position as rector of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Together with her friend Pauline Parker, Hulme murdered Parker's mother in June 1954. Hulme's parents were in the process of separating, and Hulme was supposed to go to South Africa to stay with a relative due to her ill health (including a severe bout with tuberculosis). The two girls had concocted a rich fantasy life populated with famous actors, including James Mason and Orson Welles, and they believed that Parker and Hulme might instead go to England with Hulme's father. Parker's mother, Honora Rieper (who never legally married Pauline's father), had objected to the closeness of the girls' friendship and Pauline's isolation from any other friends, and Pauline believed that her mother would block her from leaving New Zealand with Juliet. Pauline began to write in her diary that she wished her mother to die, and eventually hatched a murder plot that she shared with Juliet.

On June 22, 1954, the girls set a trap for Honora Rieper. While out for a walk, Juliet dropped a rock so that Ms. Rieper would lean over to retrieve it. At that point, Pauline was to hit her mother with a brick wrapped in a stocking, and the girls presumed that would kill the woman. Instead, it took 45 hits from the brick to finally kill Honora Rieper; the brutality of the crime has contributed to its notoriety.

Parker and Hulme stood trial in Christchurch in 1954, and were found guilty on August 29 of that year. 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 during Her Majesty's pleasure. In practice, this sentence meant they were to be detained at the discretion of the Minister of Justice. They were released separately some five years later.

These events formed the basis for the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, in which Kate Winslet portrayed the teenage Juliet Hulme.

After being released from prison, Hulme returned to England and became a flight attendant. She eventually settled in the United States, where she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She later settled in Scotland.

Hulme's first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several categories of genre fiction, including historical mystery novels and fantasy. Many of them feature a number of recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt, who appeared in her first novel, and William Monk, who first appeared in her 1990 novel The Face of a Stranger. As of 2003 she has published 47 novels, and several collections of short stories.

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