I really enjoy speaking at library events, and I am always happy to support their vital work when I can. I have visited many libraries over the last few years and I was particularly drawn to an invitation to take part in a crime writing festival at the Basingstoke Discovery Centre recently, with the inspired title, ‘Only Murders in the Library’ (I love the similarly-named TV show!). Channeling my inner Mabel Mora, I was delighted to accept.
The library is a lively and attractive learning centre, with a spacious room for events – the local Waterstones had kindly brought some of my books along. The audience was very chatty before the talk started, and I discovered that many of them had family history links with Bermondsey, which made my presentation seem more relevant, even though we weren’t in London.
I shared the gruesome story of the murder of Patrick O’Connor, in 1849, by killer couple Maria and Frederick Manning, including the race to find them by the Scotland Yard detectives, and the links between the murder and Charles Dickens. After the talk, there were lots of questions and, as it was quite an informal setting, I had a lovely time discussing the case and its setting of Victorian Bermondsey. Fortunately, there were no actual murders in the library!