The Reason why: An Anthology of the Murderous Mind

One of the world's most acclaimed mystery writers present a fascinating collection of writings about murder than delve into the human passions, terrors, and foibles that incite it and linger in its wake. Seeking to understand what drives peoples to murder, Ruth Rendell devides her gallery of murderers by their thoughts and motives: killing in the family, killing for revenge or for gain, murder driven by guilt, murder as a means of escape, as an altruistic act, or out of sheer evil, and, finally, murder for murder's sake. The pieces, ranging from poetry and prose to drama, probe into the minds murderers accross time, representing their thoughts, boasts, dreams, imaginations, remorse, and act seen through the wondering eyes of observers. Rendell's interest in the dark side humanity is the guiding force in her choice of writers - including Shakespeare, Sophocles, Poe, Camus, Capote, John Banville, P. D. James, Norman Mailer, and some more surprising choices, such as an extraordinary meditation on a husband's revenge by Brazillian writer Rachel de Queiroz, a treatise on the murderous mind by Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein on the manic-depressive murderer, and Tolstoy's tale of the convict Aksenof, who refuses to punish the man responsible for his incarceration. Both for the questions about human nature that it leads us to ponder and the sheer enjoyment of fine writing, The Reason Why will appeal to Rendell's own fans, lovers of literature, and anyone who has ever wondered, "How could they do it?"