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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A schoolgirl catches the eye of the future leader of Nazi Germany. An aspiring playwright writes to a convicted serial killer, seeking inspiration. A pair of childhood sweethearts reunite to commit rape and murder. A devoted Mormon wife follows her husband into the wilderness after he declares himself a prophet.
'The twelve stories in The Love of a Bad Man imagine the lives of real women, all of whom were the lovers, wives, or mistresses of various ‘bad’ men in history. Beautifully observed, fascinating, and at times horrifying, the stories interrogate power, the nature of obsession, and the lengths some women will go to for the men they love.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Notes
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The stories are told from the perspective of real women, better known for their association with infamous men. The women include Eva Braun, Myra Hindley, Marceline Jones (wife of Jim Jones), the women of Charles Manson's commune, Catherine Birnie (Perth-based murderer), and Blanche Barrow (part of Bonnie and Clyde's gang).
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Epigraph:
What hills, what hills are those, my love
Those hills so dark and low?
Those are the hills of hell, my love
Where you and I must go.
–'The Daemon Lover', Child Ballad 243
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
What I’m Reading
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2018; -
'The Love of a Bad Man' by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
2016
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 386 2016; (p. 50) 'Throughout history, women have been seduced by men who are mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Many of the world’s most notorious murderers and con artists have attracted loyal, besotted, and often very young female accomplices. The twelve stories in Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s collection, spanning the twentieth century, evoke the lives of real women who were all sucked into an abyss of murder, fraud, and violence under this spell. Some are well-known, including the seventeen-year-old politically naïve Eva Braun, who caught Hitler’s eye when still at school; and Myra Hindley, the ‘Moors Murderess’, who cold-bloodedly killed five children with her lover, the psychopath Ian Brady, convinced they could get away with the perfect crime. Others have been relegated to history’s footnotes, such as the so-called ‘Manson Brides’, or Veronica Compton, an aspiring actress and playwright who began a passionate correspondence with jailed serial killer Kenneth Bianchi and committed a copycat crime in order to prove his innocence.' (Introduction) -
Book Bite 2 : The Love of a Bad Man
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: Good Reading , September 2016; (p. 27) 'For some women, bad men cast an irresistibly magnetic spell. Melbourne-based author LAURA ELIZABETH WOOLLETT examines this often fatal attraction in The Love of a Bad Man, a collection of 12 stories based on the lives of real women who sought the love of criminals. In this extract from ‘Eva’, the author imagines the post-coital thoughts of Eva Braun, who met Adolf Hitler when she was 17.' -
Songs of Compulsion
2015
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Women’s Book Review , vol. 27 no. 1 / 2 2015-2016; (p. 40-45) 'On this short story collection’s release in August 2016, Woollett confessed to interviewer Lou Heinrich of Guardian Australia (30 August 2016) that women in “messed up” relationships and women whose partners were “evil guys” fascinated her. ' (Introduction)
-
Book Bite 2 : The Love of a Bad Man
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: Good Reading , September 2016; (p. 27) 'For some women, bad men cast an irresistibly magnetic spell. Melbourne-based author LAURA ELIZABETH WOOLLETT examines this often fatal attraction in The Love of a Bad Man, a collection of 12 stories based on the lives of real women who sought the love of criminals. In this extract from ‘Eva’, the author imagines the post-coital thoughts of Eva Braun, who met Adolf Hitler when she was 17.' -
'The Love of a Bad Man' by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
2016
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 386 2016; (p. 50) 'Throughout history, women have been seduced by men who are mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Many of the world’s most notorious murderers and con artists have attracted loyal, besotted, and often very young female accomplices. The twelve stories in Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s collection, spanning the twentieth century, evoke the lives of real women who were all sucked into an abyss of murder, fraud, and violence under this spell. Some are well-known, including the seventeen-year-old politically naïve Eva Braun, who caught Hitler’s eye when still at school; and Myra Hindley, the ‘Moors Murderess’, who cold-bloodedly killed five children with her lover, the psychopath Ian Brady, convinced they could get away with the perfect crime. Others have been relegated to history’s footnotes, such as the so-called ‘Manson Brides’, or Veronica Compton, an aspiring actress and playwright who began a passionate correspondence with jailed serial killer Kenneth Bianchi and committed a copycat crime in order to prove his innocence.' (Introduction) -
Songs of Compulsion
2015
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Women’s Book Review , vol. 27 no. 1 / 2 2015-2016; (p. 40-45) 'On this short story collection’s release in August 2016, Woollett confessed to interviewer Lou Heinrich of Guardian Australia (30 August 2016) that women in “messed up” relationships and women whose partners were “evil guys” fascinated her. ' (Introduction) -
What I’m Reading
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2018;
Awards
- 2017 shortlisted Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing — Best First Novel
- 2017 longlisted Davitt Award — Best Adult Crime Novel
- 2017 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for Fiction
Last amended 9 Nov 2020 10:33:55
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