A Little Knowledge

‘AN incredible three million copies of her books have been sold in America,” boast Anne Perry’s British publishers. Incredible, no; if they say so, I believe them. A bit puzzling, yes; the reason for such popularity is not altogether clear. But the operative word in that boast is “America.” Although Miss Perry is a British writer, living in Britain, her books are much less well known on the eastern side of the Atlantic. And that’s not puzzling at all.

Her novels, set in Victorian London, are—like those of Martha Grimes, an American mystery writer who has set nearly all her books in Britain—full of slight solecisms and anomalies liable to set sensitive English teeth on edge. They have been praised by the upmarket American press for their historical authenticity and atmospheric plausibility but authentic and plausible, to anyone with the slightest knowledge of the period, they are certainly not.

AL

About the Author

Anthony Lejeune

‘AN incredible three million copies of her books have been sold in America,” boast Anne Perry’s British publishers. Incredible, no; if they say so, I believe them. A bit puzzling, yes; the reason for such popularity is not altogether clear. But the operative word in that boast is “America.” Although Miss Perry is a British writer, living in Britain, her books are much less well known on the eastern side of the Atlantic. And that’s not puzzling at all.

Her novels, set in Victorian London, are—like those of Martha Grimes, an American mystery writer who has set nearly all her books in Britain—full of slight solecisms and anomalies liable to set sensitive English teeth on edge. They have been praised by the upmarket American press for their historical authenticity and atmospheric plausibility but authentic and plausible, to anyone with the slightest knowledge of the period, they are certainly not.