The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Verse, Violence and the Art of Forgery

(Paperback)

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This is the true story of a brilliantly forged Emily Dickinson poem sold at Sotheby's in 1997. The author's detective work led him across America, to a prison cell in Salt Lake City, where the world's greatest literary forger, Mark Hofmann, is serving a life sentence for double-murder. Mark Hofmann is no ordinary murderer. Until he was incarcerated he was the world's greatest literary forger: a man who combined meticulous historical research with craftsmanship and forensic science. In 1997, one of his most accomplished forgeries, a poem by the much-loved 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson, turned up at a Sotheby's and was sold for USD21,000 to the library in Dickinson's home town, Amherst In this text Simon Worrall reveals the psychology of a master forger and a ruthless killer, a man whose love for books developed into an uncontrollable compulsion. Desperate to acquire some of the rarest manuscripts on the market, Hofmann resorted to ever more elaborate schemes to raise money, and spun a web of deceit which stretched right across America.

Reviews

'What a story! I found Simon Worrall's wonderful book utterly enthralling. I read it at one sitting and learned all sorts of things from its multitudes of fascinations. To have crafted a book that manages to connect the poignant solitude of Emily Dickinson with the bizarre beliefs of the Mormon church, and by way of tales of bombings, brakruptcy and counterfeiting, is the mark of a truly superb talent.' Simon Winchester, author of THE SURGEON OF CROWTHORNE An adventurous and sensational narrative.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times 'Compelling...this tale is fascinating and Worrall tells it in just the right way: as an intelligent, fast-moving thriller.' 'Fascinating.' Mail on Sunday 'A cracking tale: the labyrinthine story he uncovers is beautifully paced and as complex as any conspiracy theory: a work of non-fiction, it reads like a thriller.' Observer 'An astonishing tale...enthralling...all this makes for an even more engrossing yarn than that told in The Surgeon of Crowthorne.' Jonathan Sale, Financial Times

Author Bio

Simon Worrall was born in Wellington, England in 1951, and spent his childhood in East Africa and SIngapore. He has written for magazines and newspapers all over the world, including the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the New Yorker. He lives in East Hampton with his wife and son.