Penance : a novel
(Book)

Originally published in the United Kingdom in 2023 by Faber & Faber Limited.

Includes bibliographical references (page 326).

"Nearly 10 years after 16-year-old Joan Wilson was set on fire by three other schoolgirls, journalist Alec Z. Carelli has written the definitive account of the crime, drawn from interviews with witnesses and family members, historical research and correspondence with the killers themselves, but wonders how much of the story is true"--

On a beach in a run-down seaside town on the Yorkshire coastline, sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson is set on fire by three other schoolgirls. Nearly a decade after the murder, journalist Alec Z. Carelli writes the definitive account of the crime, drawn from hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, painstaking historical research, and most notably, correspondence with the killers themselves. The result is a riveting snapshot of lives rocked by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil. But how much of the story is true? -- adapted from jacket.