'You also stabbed her to her face and chest before trying to set fire to her body by placing it on the hob of the oven.'Įxpert psychiatrists found Ellis was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attack. You also strangled her seemingly with the cord from the dressing gown.

'You punched her repeatedly causing fractures and bruising to her face and body. 'Whilst the two of you were alone you attacked her - a neighbour heard screams shortly after midnight and not long after you rang your father to tell him there was a fire. You were living with your grandmother - she was 69 years old and suffering from ill health. He told Ellis: 'This was a brutal and sustained attack. Judge Rhys Rowlands said Ellis and Mrs Hannaby 'were close' telling the defendant, 'by your own account she and your grandfather spoiled you rotten from the age of 14'. Overall it is a light and pleasant read about a fascinating period in Dutch history.In police custody, Ellis demonstrated 'delusional behaviour' and said his grandmother 'was the demon'Įllis, of Ruabon, admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility in relation to the attack on 11 February, last year. However, this could be either as a result of translation or deliberate, given that the target market is young people who might be bored by more in-depth historical facts. The historical elements are wrapped up in a fairly light romance, and the dialogue often seems a little too modern. It’s an interesting story, but somehow the drama lacks realism and the style seems a little stilted. The narrative is written in the first person and the present tense, which means that events are only seen from Catrin’s point of view. It mixes fictitious story lines with historic facts, including characters such as the painters Vermeer and Rembrandt and the plague which swept Holland at that time.

This author is apparently well known in the Netherlands, and the novel is translated from Dutch and marketed (in the UK –ed.) for young adults. Her private life is dramatic and haunted by her past. Her painting enables her to work in a way unusual for a woman of her era. A figure and a secret from her past catch up with her and force her to move on to Delft where she becomes involved in the Delftware potteries and the lives of two brothers. Her new life shows her many things she has dreamed of and a chance to explore her talent for painting. In Holland in 1654, society is evolving rapidly, and new exciting vistas are opening up both for Catrin and her employers. Written by Jenny Watson (trans.) Simone van der Vlugtįollowing the sudden death of her husband after a short-lived, disastrous marriage, young widow Catrin leaves her stifling life in a small village and moves to Amsterdam to work for a well-connected family.

After Midnight by Susan Kyle