Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill

The Story of Mary Bell

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  • 4.50 ·
  • 2 Ratings
  • 55 Want to read
  • 2 Currently reading
  • 3 Have read

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Last edited by ImportBot
December 27, 2021 | History

Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill

The Story of Mary Bell

  • 4.50 ·
  • 2 Ratings
  • 55 Want to read
  • 2 Currently reading
  • 3 Have read

In 1968, at the age of eleven, Mary Bell was tried and convicted of murdering two small boys in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Even before she came to court, Mary Bell was demonized as the incarnation of evil, the bad seed personified. But Gitta Sereny, who covered the sensational trial, never accepted this explanation.

Over the years, Sereny came to realize that if we are ever to understand the pressures that lead children to commit serious crimes, then we need to turn to the adults who once were those children.

Twenty-seven years after her conviction, Mary Bell agreed to talk to Sereny about her harrowing childhood, the two terrible acts committed nine weeks apart, her public trial, and her twelve years of imprisonment - to discuss what was done to her and what she did, who she was and who she became. Nothing she said in five months of intensive talks was intended to excuse her crimes: she herself rejects all mitigation.

But Mary Bell's devastating story forces us all to ponder society's responsibility for children at the breaking point.

Publish Date
Publisher
Metropolitan Books
Language
English
Pages
416

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill
Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell
April 15, 2000, Owl Books
Paperback in English
Cover of: Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill
Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell
April 13, 1999, Metropolitan Books
Hardcover in English
Cover of: Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill
Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell
February 1998, Diane Pub Co
Hardcover in English

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Book Details


Classifications

Library of Congress
HV6535.E53 N487 1999, HV6535.E53N487 1999

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
416
Dimensions
9.8 x 6.2 x 1 inches
Weight
1.6 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL7932487M
Internet Archive
criesunheardwhyc00sere
ISBN 10
0805060677
ISBN 13
9780805060676
LCCN
98033216
OCLC/WorldCat
40408678
Library Thing
102098
Goodreads
833271

Work Description

What brings a child to kill another child? In 1968, at age eleven, Mary Bell was tried and convicted of murdering two small boys in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Gitta Sereny, who covered the sensational trial, never believed the characterization of Bell as the incarnation of evil, the bad seed personified. If we are ever to understand the pressures that lead children to commit serious crimes, Sereny felt, only those children, as adults, can enlighten us.

Twenty-seven years after her conviction, Mary Bell agreed to talk to Sereny about her harrowing childhood, her terrible acts, her public trial, and her years of imprisonment-to talk about what was done to her and what she did, who she was and who she became. Nothing Bell says is intended as an excuse for her crimes. But her devastating story forces us to ponder society's responsibility for children at the breaking point, whether in Newcastle, Arkansas, or Oregon.

A masterpiece of wisdom and sympathy, Gitta Sereny's wrenching portrait of a girl's damaged childhood and a woman's fight for moral regeneration urgently calls on us to hear the cries of all children at risk.

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
December 27, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
February 13, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot remove fake subjects
May 30, 2012 Edited by rehana nusrat Edited without comment.
January 25, 2012 Edited by BorrowBot Adding to In library
December 10, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page