Libraries and the North East

I've just taken advantage of my reduced working week to take a trip to the North East to do a couple of library events. I had the chance to revisit two excellent libraries, at South Shields and Hartlepool, which I first visited about five years back, when I put on my Victorian murder mystery event. This time I presented a revised, and I like to think improved, version of my 1920s murder mystery event. Pauline Martin and Denise Sparrowhawk, two splendid librarians, promoted the events very well indeed and this resulted in very good audiences to enjoy the performances of the library staff whom Pauline and Denise had persuaded to take part. Of course, while I was in the area, I wanted to seize the chance to look around and find out more about the North East.

After the sunshine of Bristol during Crimefest, the weather was much wetter, and this killed off my idea of a boat trip to the Farne Islands, but I still had time to appreciate several nice places, some of which are renowned, some less well known. I've visited Durham several times before, but made my very first foray inside the Cathedral, which is truly magnificent.

I didn't see much of South Shields, but had time to look around Hartlepool. This isn't a town that springs to mind as a tourist trap, but it has benefited hugely from regeneration, and the sights include an excellent museum, a gun battery where the first casualty on British soil during the First World War was sustained, HMS Trincomalee, a historic and richly atmospheric cemetery by the sea (it's better than it sounds!) and a marina. There's even a statue of Andy Capp. Very friendly people abound. It's well worth a visit, and - since I can't recall Hartlepool featuring in any crime fiction; let me know of any books I've overlooked - I'm strongly tempted to use it as a setting for a short story I'm working on at the moment.

Finally, I drove through the neighbouring seaside resort of Seaton Carew. The downpour meant it was impracticable (perhaps also unfair!) to take a close look, but I was intrigued to see the home town of one of Britain's most famous criminals of recent years. Yes, this was the very place where John Darwin, aka "Canoe Man", effected his mysterious "disappearance" a few years back. A genuine crime scene...

Canoe Man: review

The disappearance of John Darwin, staged by his wife Anne Darwin, is one of the most fascinating crimes of recent years. This seemingly inconspicuous couple led unexceptional lives in the North East of England, which took a surreal twist when John Darwin decided to escape to a new life, with his wife’s help, and cash in on the insurance. Their story has just been told in a BBC Four drama, Canoe Man, starring Bernard Hill and Saskia Reeves.

The story that Anne told everyone was that John had gone out in his canoe one day, and never come back. But in fact, John was living in concealment in the house next door, which the couple also owned. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the deception, and the one that I find truly shocking, is that the lie was told to the couple’s two sons as well. I find this extraordinarily cruel, and yet the Darwins were not cruel people, as far as I can tell.

They were not especially bright, that is for sure. They ultimately decamped to Panama, but allowed themselves to be photographed – and the snapshot ultimately appeared on the internet. It all became too much and John came back to England and gave himself up, pleading amnesia. But he finished up in prison.

The casting of this low-budget drama was interesting. Bernard Hill is a very reliable actor, and he portrayed John pretty well. Anne, resolutely unglamorous, was played by Saskia Reeves, a beautiful woman, who was so good in Close My Eyes back in the 90s. Saskia Reeves did a sound job, but the script still left me wondering about the motivation of Anne Darwin. Why on earth did she go along with it all? I feel that the story of the Darwins would benefit from much deeper probing of the psychology of this extraordinary ordinary couple.