The blurb:

''Gitta Sereny has worked with disturbed children, and her dignified, compassionate book is a mile away from the usual tawdry accounts of sensational murder trials ... The story of Mary Bell in all its terrifying detail is told here with fine lucidity, joined to remarkable charity and understanding.'
Julian Symons, Washington Post

Why would a child murder another child? What makes a Mary Bell? Is it heredity, pathology or environment? Should we regard her as monster, victim, or both?

Gitta Sereny's groundbreaking book was the first for a broad readership to address the subject of children who kill. Now the debate has, tragically, re-opened and her findings are once again of urgent importance.

This edition contains a new preface by the author, as well as her account of the death of James Bulger.

'Accurate and scrupulously fair.'
T.C.N. Gibbens, New Society

'Gitta Sereny's clear and readable book will help many people to make sense of the story ... She also draws out the lessons to be learned both by professional workers, and by society at large.'
W.H. Allchin, Mind'

This is a paperback copy from Pimlico.

I got this book in Glasgow in November 2006. Maybe in a Borders ... ?

I started reading this book this afternoon. So far interesting and very well written.

More later.

I finished this on Tuesday, April 15th.

This was a very good book. The first work of Sereny's I've ever read, and very well worth the reading. I'll be interested in reading more of her work - the Speer biography, for instance - she writes in a very easy and accessible style, but still seriously and credibly about these difficult issues.

The book tells the story of Mary Bell's life up to the age of about 15, with the focus on the events of the summer of 1968, but also with a lot of information about Mary's life leading up to the murders, and also how conditions were for Mary during her incarceration up until the publication of the book. I didn't know much about the case before - not the details - so I would have found this interesting regardless. But the book was really very good, excellent for the genre it's in. Sereny shows a lot of sensitivity in dealing with the difficult details of the case, and obviously knows a lot about child psychology. It was very depressing to read about the way Mary was treated by authorities (and the same goes for the appendix; see below) - treated as an adult, and expected to understand the situation and the reasoning of the others involved as an adult would.

On the other hand, in reading about Mary during her incarceration, as she was growing up, one does feel the question creeping up, how much did she understand, really? Also the descriptions of her behavior in court made me think this. She clearly was way above her level in intelligence. And she just as clearly wasn't normal. NOT that this makes the treatment of her any less unacceptable. But it's a thought.

This was/is a horrible case. A lot should have been learned from it which I suspect was not learned. The descriptions of the trial were interesting - I wonder how things have changed in the past forty years ... ?

There is an appendix to the book about the murder of James Bulger and his killers. This was very interesting too. I knew more about this case than about the Bell trial, but not very much about the background of the two boys, which is described in some detail here. Obviously a lot of things should have been gone into in much more detail in this case. And a great shame that that didn't happen ... and for such a lousy reason. What was concealed was in all likelihood the very thing the boys should have been forced to face ... :-(

All in all an excellent read, very well written, which I strongly recommend to any true crime fan.

This book will now go into my Permanent Collection of true crime books.