Event: Historical crime reports and Burnet's His Bloody Project
Title page from 1863 Glasgow chapbook.
“Historical archives are magical, inspiring places for writers”, notes Graeme Macrae Burnet, author of this year’s St Andrews Booker Project novel: His Bloody Project. Come to the Library’s event this Halloween, 31 October at 2.00pm in Martyrs Kirk, New Park Seminar Room and experience some of that magic. As part of the University’s Booker Prize Project events, the Library is displaying original murder trial reports and sensational accounts of true crime while a current undergraduate student presents on how these documents compare with Burnet’s novel.
Burnet goes on to state that
“There is something about the smell and feel of original documents that evokes history in a way that secondary sources can’t match. While researching His Bloody Project I spent a good deal of time in the National Archive of Scotland reading legal documents, prisoners’ letters, precognition statements, post-mortems and psychiatric reports. All of this filtered directly into the finished novel and had a strong influence on the language I used. The book would certainly not have been the same without these resources.”
This event is a celebration of the creative possibilities of Library collections through the consideration of how fiction compares with history.
The event is free and open to all, but spaces are limited, so please book.
Graeme Macrae Burnet will be visiting the University to talk about his work on Wednesday 28 November, find out more on the University events page.
If you have any questions, contact [email protected].