Why a Booktrail?
1934: A notorious true crime case
A Granite Silence
Why a Booktrail?
1934: A notorious true crime case
What you need to know before your trail
Among this long, grey corridor of four-storey tenements, a daunting expanse of granite, working families are squashed together like pickled herrings in their narrow flats. Here are Helen’s neighbours: the Topps, the Josses, the Mitchells, the Gordons, the Donalds, the Coulls and the Hunts.
Returning home from school for her midday meal, Helen is sent by her mother Agnes to buy a loaf from the bakery at the end of the street. Agnes never sees her daughter alive again.
Nina Allan explores the aftermath of Helen’s disappearance, turning a probing eye to the close-knit neighbourhood – where everyone knows everyone, at least by sight – and with subtlety and sympathy, explores the intricate layers of truth and falsehood that can coexist in one moment of history.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Aberdeen
Aberdeen’s Urquhart road was the scene of a true life murder case in 1934. Little Helen Priestly went to the corner shop for bread and never returned. What followed was to be the murder case of its day.
” Urquhart Road lies a mile or so north of the city centre a long humpbacked through fare, a gentle up- and-down curve like the bent top run of a ladder linking King Street im the west with Links Road to the east. Links Road leads to the Esplanade and to Aberdeen beach. In 1934, no one would question whether it is safe for Helen to be walking home alone. The street is a common space, a plce for ball games and for loitering, a valuable and necessary extension of the family home.”
Booktrailer Review
A heart-breaking account of a missing girl found murdered. She went to the shop one lunch time for bread and never returned. We meet her mum and family, her devasted friends and neighbours and it’s a harrowing tale. I was so invested in this community and wanted to hug them all. So insightful and carefully done. I think Helen and her family would be proud her story is being told in this way.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: A Granite Silence
Destination/Location: Aberdeen Author: Nina Allan Departure: 1934
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
