Brian Masters
Encyclopedia
Brian Masters is British
writer best known for his biographies of mass murder
ers. He has also written about the British aristocracy and worked as a translator.
Masters "grew up in a prefab on the Old Kent Road
", Southwark
to a "hunchback" mother with a weak chest and an illegitimate "no hoper" father. During his adolescence, after he asked to interview television personality Gilbert Harding
for the school magazine he had launched, Harding became close to him, and functioned as a mentor. Masters was apparently quite unfazed when Harding asked to watch him bathe.
The family having moved to Wales in a vain hope of improving his mother's health, Masters read French Literature and Philosophy at University of Wales, Cardiff
where he gained a first in 1961. Briefly a teacher in France (as part of his degree), he worked for a time as a travel guide "organising educational tours for American students" and then wrote books on French writers such as Molière
(1970) and Camus
, among others, without any pretence at them having any real originality. The publisher Anthony Blond
interested him in a book on the public's dreams about the Royal Family
, which was the first of several books by Masters' on the British aristocracy.
Masters is though best known for his books about serial killer
s, written with the co-operation of the subjects or their families. Masters corresponded with Dennis Nilsen
from shortly after his arrest in February 1983, and met him in prison without having "felt the slightest unease" during their time together. His book contains writings by Nilsen, and Masters considers various theories which attempt to explain Nilsen's actions. Masters reaches no final conclusion on "the essential unknowability of the human mind", but Nilsen is "not a stranger amongst us" rather "an extreme instance of human possibility". Masters was accused of being overly sympathetic to Nilsen at the time his book first appeared, a view he rejects in his memoir.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer best known for his biographies of mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
ers. He has also written about the British aristocracy and worked as a translator.
Masters "grew up in a prefab on the Old Kent Road
Old Kent Road
The Old Kent Road is a road in South East London, England and forms part of Watling Street, the Roman road which ran from Dover to Holyhead. The street is famous as the equal cheapest property on the London Monopoly board and as the only one in South London....
", Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
to a "hunchback" mother with a weak chest and an illegitimate "no hoper" father. During his adolescence, after he asked to interview television personality Gilbert Harding
Gilbert Harding
Gilbert Charles Harding was a British journalist and radio and television personality. His many careers included schoolmaster, journalist, policeman, disc-jockey, interviewer and television presenter...
for the school magazine he had launched, Harding became close to him, and functioned as a mentor. Masters was apparently quite unfazed when Harding asked to watch him bathe.
The family having moved to Wales in a vain hope of improving his mother's health, Masters read French Literature and Philosophy at University of Wales, Cardiff
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
where he gained a first in 1961. Briefly a teacher in France (as part of his degree), he worked for a time as a travel guide "organising educational tours for American students" and then wrote books on French writers such as Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
(1970) and Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
, among others, without any pretence at them having any real originality. The publisher Anthony Blond
Anthony Blond
Anthony Bernard Blond was a British publisher and author.Blond was the elder son of Major Neville Blond CMG, OBE, who was a cousin of Harold Laski. His mother was from a Manchester Sephardic Jewish family; they divorced when Blond was a child. Born in Sale, Cheshire, Blond was educated at Eton,...
interested him in a book on the public's dreams about the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, which was the first of several books by Masters' on the British aristocracy.
Masters is though best known for his books about serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
s, written with the co-operation of the subjects or their families. Masters corresponded with Dennis Nilsen
Dennis Nilsen
Dennis Andrew Nilsen also known as the Muswell Hill Murderer and the Kindly Killer is a British serial killer who lived in London....
from shortly after his arrest in February 1983, and met him in prison without having "felt the slightest unease" during their time together. His book contains writings by Nilsen, and Masters considers various theories which attempt to explain Nilsen's actions. Masters reaches no final conclusion on "the essential unknowability of the human mind", but Nilsen is "not a stranger amongst us" rather "an extreme instance of human possibility". Masters was accused of being overly sympathetic to Nilsen at the time his book first appeared, a view he rejects in his memoir.
Selected bibliography
- Sartre, a study (1970)
- A Student's Guide to Saint-ExupérySaint-ExupérySaint-Exupéry may refer to:People:* Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, aviation pioneer and writer* Consuelo de Saint Exupéry, writer, artist, and spouse of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry...
(1970) - A Student's Guide to Rabelais (1971)
- Dreams About HM the Queen and Other Members of the Royal Family (1973)
- Wynyard Hall and the Londonderry Family (1974)
- CamusCamus-People:* Albert Camus, French author, philosopher and journalist* Charles Étienne Louis Camus, French mathematician* Jean-Pierre Camus, French bishop and writer* Louis-Auguste Camus de Richemont, French military chief and baron d'Empire...
A study (1974) - The Dukes: Origin, Ennoblement and History of 26 Families (1980)
- GeorgianaGeorgiana Cavendish, Duchess of DevonshireGeorgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , formerly Lady Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire, and mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Her father, the 1st Earl Spencer, was a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her niece was Lady Caroline Lamb...
(1981) - Great Hostesses (1982)
- Killing for Company: Case of Dennis NilsenDennis NilsenDennis Andrew Nilsen also known as the Muswell Hill Murderer and the Kindly Killer is a British serial killer who lived in London....
(1985) - The Shrine of Jeffrey DahmerJeffrey DahmerJeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
(1993, 2007) - She Must Have Known: Trial of Rosemary WestRosemary WestRosemary Pauline "Rose" West is a British serial killer, now an inmate at HMP Low Newton, Brasside, Durham, after being convicted of 10 murders in 1995...
(1996) - The Evil That Men Do (1996)
- Getting Personal (autobiography 2002)