The free promotion of my collection of short stories, An Act Of Mercy ends today (1 December). To download An Act Of Mercy free please visit http://www.amazon.com/act-mercy-other-stories-ebook/dp/B00EHS74CS/ref=asap_B00CEECWHY_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417418604&sr=1-4. If you read any of my books please do consider leaving a review.
Many thanks,
Kevin
In 1913 the British Parliament enacted The Mental Incapacity Act. The legislation had it’s origins in the Eugenic idea that the poor, the mentally incapacitated and other marginal groups where placing an intolerable burden on the state and should be sterilised and/or confined to secure facilities (hospitals for “the mentally defective” as they where then frequently termed). Eugenics was predicated on the belief that defective genes where responsible for poverty, unmarried motherhood and other things which the eugenicists wished to eradicate. As a consequence of the Act 40,000 individuals where confined to institutions, those imprisoned ranging from those with learning disabilities through to petty criminals and unmarried mothers.
Eugenic measures where widespread with America being particularly zealous in their promotion via the Eugenics Society (a similar organisation existed in the UK). As a consequence of the murder of people with disabilities under the Nazi’s Action T-4 Programme eugenics, not surprisingly became a dirty word but as late as the 1970’s eugenic measures where being employed in Sweden against people with certain disabilities.
Support for eugenics has come from people with divergent political views. The Socialist Fabians (Sidney and Beartrice Webb) where strong proponents of Eugenics and the Labour MP Will Crooks described the poor as “almost like human vermin”. The Liberal Beveridge (the man responsible for drawing up the modern welfare state) advocated for Eugenics while Winston Churchill (a Liberal and, later a Conservative politician) advocated for Eugenics.
In “An Act of Mercy” I imagine a UK in which eugenics has been adopted as official government policy. Individuals are tasked by the government to visit families and identify those with disabilities. Anyone so identified is removed from their family and subjected to special measures. Such an idea was, in fact proposed by Leonard Darwin in the early 20th century although he did not support the killing of so-called “defectives” but their separation from the rest of society.
For an interesting article on the support for Eugenics by people on the Left please see the following piece in The Spectator, http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/5571423/how-eugenics-poisoned-the-welfare-state/. (The article is skewed as it fails to mention that many non-socialists also advocated strongly for eugenics, a fact mentioned in the comments following on from the piece. It is, none the less worth reading).
The New Statesman has a good article on Eugenics which can be found here, http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2010/12/british-eugenics-disabled.
For information on Will Crooks please see, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Crooks.
For my collection of short stories, An Act Of Mercy And Other Stories please see, http://www.amazon.com/An-act-mercy-other-stories-ebook/dp/B00EHS74CS. An Act Of Mercy is free in the Kindle Store until Monday 1 December.
A great 4 star review of my collection of short stories, The Suspect And Other Tales,
“I, too, enjoyed these stories. Short but tasty morsels that dont fill you up but yet leave you satisfied!”. My thanks goes to the reviewer for taking the time to write a review. For the review please visit the following link (http://www.amazon.com/review/R5ZYKHOEVDT3L/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00PKPTQ0U). To download The Suspect And Other Tales please visit the following links, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U/ref=cm_rdp_product, for the US or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Suspect-other-tales-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1417268733&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Suspect+and+other+tales, for the UK).
In My Last Duchess the poet, Robert Browning describes a seemingly simple scene. A Duke is showing a portrait of a beautiful young woman to the servant of his future father in law, (the Count). As the poem progresses it becomes apparent that the Duke had his previous wife (the Duchess) killed owing to his jealous nature. The Duke became insanely jealous at his Wife’s open nature and, in particular the way in which she would smile at other men. The Duchess’s inability to conform to the standards of behaviour expected of her by the Duke are her undoing,
“Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands, as if Alive”.
The Duke’s matter of fact description of the events leading to the murder of his previous wife is chilling, the chill being compounded by the manner in which he moves on from speaking about murder to talking of plans to marry the Count’s daughter. (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173024).
My Last Duchess prompted me to write Claire, a short story regarding the obsession of a man with his beautiful lover. Set in the 21st century Claire draws on Browning’s analysis of how love moves from passion, through to jealousy and thence to murder.
Claire appears in my collection of short stories, The Suspect And Other Tales which is free in the Kindle Store until Saturday 29 November (http://www.amazon.com/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U).
The free promotion of my collection of short stories, Street Walker And Other Stories ends on Thursday 26 November. If you would like to download Street Walker please visit http://www.amazon.com/Street-Walker-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00HLRNDP4 (for the US) or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Street-Walker-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00HLRNDP4 (for the UK).
I am giving away free copies of my collection of short stories, The First Time to anyone who can answer the below question. (In order to participate you will need to download my collection of short stories, The Suspect And Other Tales, which is free in the Kindle Store until Saturday 29 November). Everyone who guesses correctly will receive a free electronic copy of The First Time. Entries must be received on or before 12 PM (UK time) on Saturday 29 November. To obtain a free copy of The First Time please answer the following question,
Which story in The Suspect And Other Tales derives it’s title from a Shakespeare quote and what is the name of the play from which the quote derives?
Please e-mail your answers to newauthoronline (at) gmail dot com (the address is given in this manner to defeat spammers).
In The First Time I explore why young women enter the world of prostitution while other stories look at what happens when the
worlds of sex and technology collide.
In “The First Time”, the first story in this collection, we meet Becky a young graduate who enters the world of prostitution in order to clear her debts.
The story looks at the effects of prostitution on Becky and her fellow escort and friend Julie. In “The Pain Behind the Smile” Issie presents her friend,
Peter with a birthday cake, however things are not what they seem.
In “Lucy” the acquaintances of a crusty old bachelor speculate how he could attract and retain the affections of a beautiful young woman. As with “The
Pain Behind the Smile” things are far from what they seem.
“Hemlock” explores what happens when machines attain the capacity to appreciate high culture. The story is both humorous and deeply serious.
To download The Suspect And Other Tales free please go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U (for the UK) or http://www.amazon.com/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U/ref=cm_cr_pr_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8 (for the US).
My collection of short stories ‘The suspect and other tales’ will be available to download for free on Kindle from the 25th – 29th November.
A reviewer has written of ‘The Suspect’ as follows: ‘Eleven clever and entertaining short stories, ideal for dipping into and each with a nice twist in the tale.’ You can see the review here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00PKPTQ0U/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
To download The Suspect and other tales free please visit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U for the UK or here http://www.amazon.com/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0 for the US
For my Amazon Author page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 for the UK and http://www.amazon.com/K-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 for the US
If you download any of my books I would appreciate it if you would please consider leaving a review.
Many thanks, Kevin
Many thanks to Emma (https://creative5word.wordpress.com/) for the below guest post which takes the form of a short story. Emma has also submitted a further post which will appear later in the week. Thank you Emma!
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Primal By Emma Tomlinson
The sky begins to darken and my own footprints create an echoing sound, vacant, yet soft crunching, on the hardened ground. I can feel the moist air dampening my skin, the freshness almost choking me as I walk further into the night. Direction seems futile now as every turn I make appears identical and remains vast.
I can vaguely hear sounds from around me, unnatural sounds, which evoke an unwelcome chill to travel down my spine. I can feel the tiny hairs on my body rising like soldiers and reacting in frozen response. The trees appear to thicken and their branches move slow but deliberate, my path becoming narrow and overgrown.
I quicken my pace, aware my breathing is becoming heavier with each step. I can see my breath spiralling in front of me, small clouds of nothingness. I feel alone. I feel afraid.
From my right I can hear a strange panting; I can feel a sensation of being watched. The little hairs stand taller as I realise that the noise is coming closer. With fear and momentum rising, I try to remain calm and take longer strides, putting more distance between them and me. My purposeful steps are matching the thuds within my heart, rhythmic and strong. My ears explode almost with the sound, the blood cursing through my every vein.
I now feel like the hunted as I feel my every sense coming alive. My vision is becoming stronger, accustoming to the dark and now fuelled by the overwhelming fear that has almost paralysed my body. I continue. To stop is not an option. I now know my body is responding in pure survival mode. My legs feel stronger and I can feel the blood pooling near my muscles, alert, ready for the unknown.
The noises are surrounding me now. There are others. No longer a lone threat, I can feel eyes feeding on me, stalking me. Watching my every move.
I begin to feel faint, slightly disorientated and nauseas. I feel my body shivering. I pull up my hood, my coat no longer providing heat. I am drenched but there is no rain. My own perspiration is collecting in small pools on my body, although my hands remain cold and icy.
My head begins to throb and I reach up to soothe my temple. The cold of my hand shocks me and I become alert once more.
My senses tell me they are close now. My own footsteps are casting continuous echoes all around me. I realise too late that these secondary noises were not me. It was them. But I cannot escape now.
They reach me before I can react. I feel the impact and lose my footing before falling, my hairband fluttering loose and landing on the uneven earth. I can hear screaming. I realise that it is coming from me.
I awake to a continuous tone. I recognise the music from my phone. I had specifically chosen an amazon theme, the cool sounds of nature, to softly shake the sleep from my eyes.
Realisation hits me and I sit up to survey my surroundings. My heart begins to pound once more in isolated apprehension. As my eyes take in the scenery of my bedroom wall, I can feel a smile spreading from my lips. My bedspread tucked under me, my dog by my side.
A dream. Only a simple dream.
The mind of a deep thinker…or complete rubbish…it is all down to interpretation and perception…
Below is part 2 of my story, Young Offender. For Part 1 please visit (http://newauthoronline.com/2014/11/07/young-offender-part-1/).
Jenny stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
“Little bitch”, Jenny said examining the deep scratch above her right eye. God it stung like hell. Why did she put up with her cousin’s violent outbursts? Casting her mind back Jenny remembered a conversation with her former boyfriend, Rob,
“That kid will end up in jail”, Robert had said.
“Rob, can you put down that bloody paper and have a proper conversation about Luan?” Jenny had said her voice sharp with exasperation.
“You know what I think Jen”, Robert had said, throwing his copy of a leading national tabloid on to the dining table. “The kid’s a no hoper. Bring her here and you saddle us with a delinquent teenage criminal. There’s a piece in the paper saying that criminality is largely genetic”, Robert had said picking up the newspaper and opening it at an article on page 3 entitled, “Scientist says criminals are born, not made by society”.
“So Luan’s behaviour is all down to genetics, it has nothing whatever to do with the fact that her mother is a drug addict and feeds her addiction by prostituting herself? That poor kid, ever since she was a toddler there have been men visiting Grace’s flat for sex. Its no wonder that Luan went off the rails growing up with a mother like that”, Jenny had said, her face flushing with anger.
“It’s bad jenes. Grace has them and the kid’s inherited her mother’s criminal genetic make-up. It’s the pig that makes the sty, not the sty that makes the pig”, Robert had said, reaching for his cigarettes.
“How dare you call my cousin a pig. How dare you do that! You sit in our comfortable home, coming, as you do from a middle-class family and you dare to judge people who have been brought up in an environment which you can barely imagine, and don’t you dare to light up”, Jenny said glaring at Robert’s cigarettes, “you know how I hate smoking. Oh, by the way is your cigarette habit genetic?”
“Don’t be bloody ridiculous”, Robert had said.
“Well its just as ridiculous as you saying that Luan’s behaviour is caused by genetics and we should give up on her. Your mother and father smoked so, obviously smoking, like criminality is genetic isn’t it?”, Jenny had said, twisting the tissue in her hand into a tiny ball.
“If that kid comes here then I’m leaving”, Rob had said.
“When we met Rob I fell in love with you for your forthright opinions. I liked the way you weren’t afraid to express yourself irrespective of what others might think of your point of view but, having lived with you for the last 2 months I find you haven’t got a single original thought in that head of yours. All your opinions are parroted from the tabloids”, Jenny had said.
“You know who you remind me of? Rob had said.
“No but I’m sure you are going to tell me”, Jenny had said.
“You remind me of that joke about the social worker who finds an elderly lady lying in a pool of blood on the street. She is, quite obviously the victim of a vicious mugging.
“My god”, says the social worker, “whoever did this to you needs my help”, Rob had said.
“You are pathetic Rob. A pathetic narrow minded bigot who rights off a young teenager because he is to pig ignorant to understand that the environment affects people, that we are not created bad but our shaped by our upbringing. Just pack your things and get out”, Jenny had said.
Downstairs the clock struck 10:30. The sound brought Jenny back to the present with a jolt. Turning from the mirror she exited the bathroom and crossing the landing entered her bedroom.
Jenny dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Should she put on that necklace her mother had given her for Christmas? Why not, it was a beautiful piece of jewellery and she felt good wearing it. Jenny reached for the necklace on her dressing table. It wasn’t there. Frantically she searched under the dressing table, in every drawer, under the bed, in fact Jenny looked in any place, however unlikely the necklace might be.
“Not Luan. Surely Luan wouldn’t do that to me?” Jenny thought, her eyes hot with unshed tears.
I was delighted to receive the following 4 star review in respect of my latest collection of short stories, “The Suspect And Other Tales”:
“Eleven clever and entertaining short stories, ideal for dipping into and each with a nice twist in the tale.”
For the review please visit (http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R15SEEQ1V22J9T/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00PKPTQ0U). Many thanks to the reviewer for the above review.
To purchase or download a free sample of “The Suspect And Other Tales” please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U/ref=cm_rdp_product (for the UK) or http://www.amazon.com/The-Suspect-other-tales-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U (for the US).
K Morris - Poet 