Out in the Open

An interview with mystery author Anne Perry in the Times inevitably brings up her former life in NZ as Juliet Hulme, one half of the murderous teenage duo portrayed in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures. A hugely prolific and successful writer, particularly in the US, Perry’s identity was made known in the early 1990s. In order to protect her elderly mother from the ensuing media circus, Perry has deliberately maintained a low profile in her adopted Scotland. Only after her mother’s death in 2004 has Perry opened up in the UK, embarking on numerous press tours of the region. “I would not have an old lady of 90 having people on the doorstep, telephoning her, pointing long lenses into the bedroom,” she says. “If she was still alive we would not be having this conversation. I would like to establish a proper literary reputation in this country, but not at that price.”