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Hilary Nathan, known to her neighbors in the small Orcadian island of Burray as a quiet, religious woman who managed a riding stable, led a life that concealed a remarkably turbulent past. Her passing last week in a local care home at the age of 88 marked the end of a story that began half a world away, seven decades ago, with a notorious murder trial. Born as Pauline Parker, she was just 16 when she was convicted alongside her schoolfriend Juliet Hulme in New Zealand for the murder of her mother, Honora Parker.
The case sent shockwaves through New Zealand and beyond. The pair had been inseparable friends at Christchurch Girls’ High School, and fearing separation following Juliet’s parents’ divorce and her planned relocation to South Africa, the two conspired to kill Honora Parker, whom they saw as an obstacle to their continued friendship. The trial revealed that they had lured her to a park and brutally bludgeoned her to death with a brick wrapped inside a stocking.
By the time filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson was born in 1961, both girls had already completed five years in prison. After their release, they were given new identities and left New Zealand, never to return. Jackson, reflecting on the case in a 1995 interview, described the global media frenzy surrounding the trial, calling it “tabloid sensational.” His film Heavenly Creatures, featuring Kate Winslet as Hulme and Melanie Lynskey as Parker, sought to go beyond the headlines to understand the nature of their intense friendship and its eventual descent into violence. Both girls were found guilty but escaped the death penalty due to their young age.
Years later, Juliet Hulme, now living under the name Anne Perry, had reinvented herself as a crime writer based in Portmahomack, Rosshire. She expressed reluctance to watch the film, describing it as “too harrowing.” Meanwhile, Kate Winslet, during the film’s production, hoped that Hilary Nathan (formerly Pauline Parker) would retain her anonymity, acknowledging the resilience both women had shown in rebuilding their lives. However, in 2011, Nathan’s location was uncovered by author Peter Graham, who had written extensively about the case. By then, she had moved from running a riding school in Kent to another stable in Orkney. Both women found solace in their religious faiths and tight-knit communities—Nathan as a devout Catholic and Perry as a Mormon—where they sought refuge from their notorious pasts.
Anne Perry’s writing career flourished primarily in America, although she remained somewhat reluctant to embrace fame, avoiding promotional activities and turning down television adaptations of her work. In 2001, during a rare interview in Portmahomack, Perry reflected on her past, stating, “I think after 51 years, you can let it go.” Her crime novels, particularly those featuring her detective William Monk, often explore themes resonant with her own experiences, such as identity, morality, and forgiveness. Perry admitted that her life’s dark history shaped her empathetic view of people who do wrong, imbuing her stories with a deeper understanding of compassion and redemption
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