The Seduction of Mary Kelly- William Perring

[Howard Brown]

Thread for discussion of the Ripper fiction novel , The Seduction of Mary Kelly, by East End-born, William Perring.
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[The Grave Maurice]

I retrieved my comments on this book from Bill Perring's website. (Fortunately, he had copied them from here.)


With a handful of exceptions, I am not generally a fan of fictionalized accounts of the Whitechapel murders. I bought this book earlier in the summer but, because it's a hefty tome, I waited until I was on vacation to read it so it could be digested in uninterrupted large chunks.

William Perring is obviously well acquainted with the facts surrounding the JtR mystery and he weaves them into a marvellously entertaining tale. He has a fine eye for detail, a good ear for dialogue, and has created a sprawling, Hardy-esque novel of a doomed heroine that is, by turns, both chilling and heart wrenching.

The ingenious plot explains all the elements of the story of MJK's life as she supposedly related it to Joseph Barnett and Mrs. Carthy. Perring's novel also cleverly accounts for puzzles such as why MJK went to Paris, why she moved to the East End, and who Caroline Maxwell spoke to on the morning of November 9th. The denouement is clever and inventive: it employs elements of theories that we have heard before, but they are combined in an innovative way, along with a couple of unexpected (for me, anyway) plot twists.

Not the least attractive aspect of this book is the ethereal beauty of the model on the dust jacket who represents MJK. Apparently Perring is responsible for creating this image as well --- obviously a man of many talents.

Perring is a perceptive writer with a deft touch. Names such as Catherine Eddowes, Joe Barnett, and especially MJK, really come alive in these pages.

You'll be sorry if you miss this one.

[Bill Perring]

Seduction of Mary Kelly Website

For samples (including the entire first chapter), a video presentation, and a postage free price, please visit the book's website at: http://www.marykelly.co.uk

All books are signed, unless you request otherwise (which might be an idea as they are probably going to be the most rare ) and can be dedicated if you so wish - just e-mail me at bill@darcycollection.co.uk to tell me what to write.

Best wishes
Bill

[Jana Oliver]

Bill
We know so little about the Mary and yet you made her come alive. How did you get a feel for her personality, her experiences, etc. so you could make her feel real to the reader?

[Bill Perring]

Bill
We know so little about the Mary and yet you made her come alive. How did you get a feel for her personality, her experiences, etc. so you could make her feel real to the reader?

Hi, Jana
Allowing that the stories she told of her life are true, or at least based on truth, then we have quite a number of clues as to her personality. We ‘know’ that she was married to a Welsh miner – yet shortly after his death she is riding in carriages in Kensington, and travelling to Paris – in a time when many working class people never ventured more than twenty miles from their birthplace.

Add to this the mention of her having a talent for drawing, and of having a sister who was an actress – suggesting some artistic leaning, and it was easy to imagine Mary as a girl with dreams and ambitions beyond those of her neighbours, and possibly some means by which she might fulfil them – which would seem to be born out by the statement, quoted in The Graphic: Kelly did not originally belong to the ‘gutter’ class. She was a woman of respectable parentage and superior breeding, who had gradually sunk into the state of degradation in which she was existing when she met her terrible death.

I wanted the book to be completely true to the facts of the case, so it was then a matter of building a logical and believable series of events that accounted for all the ‘known’ events – yet doing it all in a very personal way – focussing on Mary’s relationships – getting ‘under her skin’ to express all the hopes, disappointments, fears and frustrations that must have accompanied the roller-coaster ride that was the second half of her life.

Hope this goes some small way to answering your question

Good luck with your Time Rover series - I really enjoyed the first one and must catch up with the the new ones.

Best wishes
Bill

[Howard Brown]

Personally, I can't say enough about the wonderful book and agree wholeheartedly with Ms. Oliver & The Grave Maurice as to how Bill Perring made not only Mary Kelly "come alive" but that there are dozens, not just one or two, but dozens of characters in his book that come alive and all have identities of their own, well developed and very believeable.

What Jana Oliver is to her genre of Ripper fiction, Bill Perring clearly is to his.

Its a very worthwhile investment of reading time and hopefully one day someone will be smart enough to get crackin' on a mini-series based on Bill's work for the civilian population as well as for us hard-core cats.

[Jana Oliver]

I wanted the book to be completely true to the facts of the case, so it was then a matter of building a logical and believable series of events that accounted for all the ‘known’ events...

You make it sound so easy, which is hardly the case. If you don't mind me asking, just how long did it take you to do the research and the actual first draft? If you say a fortnight, you're in big trouble.

And I second How's thoughts -- I'd love to see a miniseries. Most likely they'd screw it up unless the Brits make it (preferably the folks who do Masterpiece Theater). We'd go all Hollywood over here. "How's about we kludge in the car chase right after the scene where she leaves Paris? Yeah, that'll work. Make it a Toyota. They bought placement. Oh, and make sure we get a shot of her wristwatch. Cartier will be pissed if we don't."

Jana

[Bill Perring]

Oh, and make sure we get a shot of her wristwatch. Cartier will be pissed if we don't."

Jana

LOL - and of course all the victims will be attractive young things with a bloom to their cheeks and a jaunty spring to their step - just like in every other film that's ever been made


The research? It's hard to remember now how long I spent on it, but I would say a couple of months. I'd gotten interested in the Ripper case several years earlier, back in the days when I had a 'proper job', and worked a stone's throw from Mitre Square - so I'd already visited the sites, and read all the foremost books on the subject, so it was only a matter of refreshing my memory and coming up with a workable plot and a denouement that would hopefully be a surprise to even the most ardent Ripperologist.

This basic layout included the important elements of Mary's character, those of other main characters such as Joe Barnett and Kate Eddowes, as well as all the factual 'milestones' that had to be included along the way. Once the main writing started, many of subplots suggested themselves, and I just went with the flow.

In effect, there was only one draught, (because I continually edit as I go) and this took roughly five years, though I was only spending one or two days a week on it for the first four years.

The way I like to work is to 'walk the plot' - which means that I have a rough idea of the scenes I'm going to work on that day, then I go for an hour's walk (luckily I live on the edge of open countryside) and by the time I come back I've usually had the tingle up the back of the neck that tells me I've hit upon a way of presenting those scenes in a way that adds an interest over and above the main point of moving the story on - an obvious example of this (for those who've already read it) is the scene with Mary and Evan in the Cardiff gallery - though every scene in the book has gone through the same process.

So it certainly wasn't done in a fortnight, unfortunately

But your question has made me interested to know what your methods are ... so I think I'll put you on the spot with the same question on your book's thread

Best wishes
Bill

[Jana Oliver]

I wish I lived in the country. I'd love to "walk the plot". I usually wander around the house talking to myself and the cat, who has learned to pretend she's asleep. A lot of my plotting comes in the half hour or so after I wake up or right before I'm ready to go sleep. Apparently the brain slows down long enough to allow me to work through the scenes.

Five years. Wow. Even part time that's a long while to live with a novel.

Jana

[Glenn Lauritz Andersson]

I have to say I really loved the Flash video presentation on the website. Very tastefully done - strong pictures and captivating words to go with it.

All the best

[Bill Perring]

Five years. Wow. Even part time that's a long while to live with a novel.

Jana

It was a labour of love. I don't think I'll ever enjoy writing a book as much as I did that one. It was a pleasure to spend so much time in the company of Mary, Annie, Kate in particular, and even poor old Joe. And though it makes me sound as if I need to get a life, I missed them all once the book was finished.

Still, I do have loosely worked layouts for a sort-of prequel and two sequels, so who knows, I might well meet up with at least some of characters again in the years to come

[Rescuedog]

A superb read!

I've just completed Bill Perring's excellent novel. It kept me rivetted from start to finish and I've placed a review on Amazon which i've reproduced below.

Brian

Five stars

An Awesome Debut Novel - A Rivetting Read!, 11 Mar 2008
By Mr. B. Porter "Whitechapel Jack" (Yorkshire, England) - See all my reviews


I've just finished reading Bill Perring's wonderful book! I have to say that I was captivated from start to finish. I loved the characterizations, the settings, and the storyline was just superb. This is a beautifully written and wonderfully crafted book, with a storyline that is wholly believeable, and I was truly sad to have reached the end.

Bill Perring has captured the sights and sounds and even the smells of Victorian London to such an extent that I felt I was there, in the thick of the action as this truly memorable story progressed. The mingling of fact and fiction was so seamlessly put together that it was hard to know where one ended and the other began, a truly remarkable achievement.

'The Seduction of Mary Kelly' is a must read, not just for Ripperologists, but for anyone who enjoys a thoroughly good novel. It will appeal both to serious ripperologists and to the casual reader of fictional works on the subject. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book, and I would urge anyone who hasn't yet read it to get their copy as soon as possible.

From one author to another I would like to say, "Well done sir. Your book is a triumph!"

Brian L Porter, Author, 'A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper'

[Hellrider]

awesome work Mister Perring..I will surely order your bock as soon as I have the money and the time available...the first chapter is compelling and written in an intriguing manner

[Bill Perring]

awesome work Mister Perring..I will surely order your bock as soon as I have the money and the time available...the first chapter is compelling and written in an intriguing manner

Well, thank you very much. Such praise should be rewarded if at all possible, - so, if you are in the UK I currently have an offer price of £10 inc p+p. Afraid I can't do better than the web site price for the USA due to the huge cost of postage.

Best wishes
Bill

[The Grave Maurice]

I'm surprised that copies of this book are still available. It is so good that I would have thought they all would have been snapped up long ago. Anyone who is interested enough in the Whitechapel murders to hang around this website should acquire a copy. It is required reading. Period.