- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Macmillan; First Edition / Third Impression edition (8 May 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0333735242
- ISBN-13: 978-0333735244
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
129,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historians > Sereny, Gitta
- #17 in Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Social Issues > Violence in Society
- #26 in Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Mary I
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Product Description
Review
Mary Bell murdered two children at the age of ten and served a life sentence. In this book, published amid huge controversy, Sereny does not attempt a justification of Mary's crimes but an investigation into what circumstances contributed to murder. Unsurprisingly, horrific, systematic abuse seems to be the key, as it has been in other cases. Sereny wants us to believe that she has told this story to teach us some lessons about visiting our own adult sickness and expectations on young children - and then labelling them as evil aberrations. And she points out that we were lucky that Bell turned out to be a 'normal' adult because she had little help to become one when in the penal system. She also raises some crucial questions about our society and does her level best to give an honest, sensitive treatment, avoiding sensationalism. (Kirkus UK)
An abused child who killed two toddlers is the subject of a lengthy profile that attempts to understand the root causes of such acts and pleads for a different approach to the treatment of youthful offenders. This study is Sereny's second book on Mary Bell, whose highly publicized trial she covered in 1968, and a continuation of her exploration of crime and conscience (Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth, 1995; etc.). Working closely with Mary for two years, Sereny explores her feelings about her life as a child, as an adolescent in detention, as an adult in prison, and now as a mother trying to live a normal life outside prison. Sereny recounts the investigation, trial, and Mary's incarceration, including Mary's present-day reflections on past events. After being convicted of manslaughter, Mary, a clearly disturbed 11-year-old, was sent to a reform school for boys, a relatively benign environment where the staff was well-meaning but untrained in psychotherapy. At age 16, however, she was transferred to a maximum security prison for women. Seven years later, she was released on parole, poorly socialized and ill equipped for life outside. Under Sereny's persistent questioning, Mary reluctantly talks about her disastrous childhood and her love-hate relationship with her mother, a prostitute who had sexually abused her, had twice tried to give her away, and had made several attempts to kill her. Sereny, who has faith in the innate goodness of human beings and the healing power of therapy, argues that before the killings Mary was reaching a breaking point that ought to have been recognized by those around her and that children who commit serious crimes should be regarded not as evil but as severely disturbed. This book may not have the sensational appearl here that it had in England, where it was a bestseller, but this study of her case raises important - and very relevant - social and moral questions about responsibility, rehabilitation, and redemption. (Kirkus Reviews)
An abused child who killed two toddlers is the subject of a lengthy profile that attempts to understand the root causes of such acts and pleads for a different approach to the treatment of youthful offenders. This study is Sereny's second book on Mary Bell, whose highly publicized trial she covered in 1968, and a continuation of her exploration of crime and conscience (Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth, 1995; etc.). Working closely with Mary for two years, Sereny explores her feelings about her life as a child, as an adolescent in detention, as an adult in prison, and now as a mother trying to live a normal life outside prison. Sereny recounts the investigation, trial, and Mary's incarceration, including Mary's present-day reflections on past events. After being convicted of manslaughter, Mary, a clearly disturbed 11-year-old, was sent to a reform school for boys, a relatively benign environment where the staff was well-meaning but untrained in psychotherapy. At age 16, however, she was transferred to a maximum security prison for women. Seven years later, she was released on parole, poorly socialized and ill equipped for life outside. Under Sereny's persistent questioning, Mary reluctantly talks about her disastrous childhood and her love-hate relationship with her mother, a prostitute who had sexually abused her, had twice tried to give her away, and had made several attempts to kill her. Sereny, who has faith in the innate goodness of human beings and the healing power of therapy, argues that before the killings Mary was reaching a breaking point that ought to have been recognized by those around her and that children who commit serious crimes should be regarded not as evil but as severely disturbed. This book may not have the sensational appearl here that it had in England, where it was a bestseller, but this study of her case raises important - and very relevant - social and moral questions about responsibility, rehabilitation, and redemption. (Kirkus Reviews)
Product Description
Pieces together the damaged life of Mary Bell, who aged 11 was tried and convicted of manslaughter after the death of two young boys. Only as an adult has she been able to realize the moral enormity of her crimes. The story of her life forces the reader to consider society's responsibility for children's crime. Originally published in 1998.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
This is an interesting yet at times, frustrating read. I bought this as the Mary Bell case was something that happened prior to my birth, and I didn't know a great deal about it. I was hoping to read Mary's story and see why she did what she did, and how it has affected her life since. On finishing the book, I'm still unclear on lots of things but this may well be down to the subject as well as the author.
Bell, it turns out, makes for a very difficult interviewee being at times evasive, erratic and often resorting to downright lying. One senses that the author, realising how difficult it's going to be to make this a coherent read, too often, uses the book as a platform for her thoughts and personal views and this starts to grate after a while.
All in all, I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the case and the aftermath as far as Bell is concerned but it is by no means an easy read.
Bell, it turns out, makes for a very difficult interviewee being at times evasive, erratic and often resorting to downright lying. One senses that the author, realising how difficult it's going to be to make this a coherent read, too often, uses the book as a platform for her thoughts and personal views and this starts to grate after a while.
All in all, I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the case and the aftermath as far as Bell is concerned but it is by no means an easy read.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
The book itself was very well written and must have been very difficult to listen to such horror,both from the victims families,but also Mary Bell herself. I also do not condone what she did, but I can believe the anger she felt inside, which unfortunatly spilled over to the unthinkable act of murder. What is hard to come to terms with is the way Mary was treated by the system, and why on earth was no help given to her during these years? I do think she now has started to build her life again with the help of her child, and someday this child will learn what her mother had done, this is inevitable, and again Mary will have to face many months of healing. I hope in time our legal system will start to listen to these children who commit these terrible crimes, instead of just branding them evil, after all no child is born evil, only people make them so.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
I heard the news hype about the book when it was published, the focus on Mary Bell, the child's eyes, picturing her as purely evil. The book is far more shocking than that. It gives a detailed account of a child giving very obvious indicators of the trauma she was facing in her young life, and of a crime that was waiting to happen. The author never excuses Mary Bell for the crime. However, she has strong views about the way children are treated in our courts. A strong undercurrent links with other notorious crimes involving young children. It raises issues that Social Services, the Government, the Legal System, and every parent can not afford to ignore. This book does not glory in crime. It is a cry that demands to be heard, for the sake of our children, children we know, children where already a crime is waiting to happen.
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