Gina Perry

The fascinating true story of one of the most controversial psychological experiments of the modern era — a real-life Lord of the Flies.Competition. Prejudice. Discrimination. Conflict.In 1954, a group of boys attended a remote summer camp where they were split into two groups, and encouraged to bully, harass, and demonise each other. The results would make history as one of social psychology’s classic — and most controversial — studies: the Robbers Cave experiment.Conducted at the height of the Cold War, officially the experiment had a happy ending: the boys reconciled, and psychologist Muzafer Sherif demonstrated that while hatred and violence are powerful forces, so too are cooperation and harmony. Today it is proffered as proof that under the right conditions warring groups can make peace. Yet the true story of the experiments is far more complex, and more chilling.In The Lost Boys, Gina Perry explores the experiment and its consequences, tracing the story of Sherif, a troubled outsider who struggled to craft an experiment that would vanquish his personal demons. Drawing on archival material and new interviews, Perry pieces together a story of drama, mutiny, and intrigue that has never been told before.

The true story of the most controversial psychological research of the modern era. In the summer of 1961, a group of men and women volunteered for a memory experiment to be conducted by young, dynamic psychologist Stanley Milgram. None could have imagined that, once seated in the lab, they would be placed in front of a box known as a shock machine and asked to administer a series of electric shocks to a man they'd just met. And no one could have foreseen how the repercussions of their actions, made under pressure and duress, would reverberate throughout their lives. For what the volunteers did not know was that the man was an actor, the shocks were fake, and what was really being tested was just how far they would go. When Milgram's results were released, they created a worldwide sensation. He reported that people had repeatedly shocked a man they believed to be in pain, even dying, because they had been told to -- he linked the finding to Nazi behaviour during the Holocaust. But some questioned Milgram's unethical methods in fooling people. Milgram became both hero and villain, and his work seized the public imagination for more than half a century, inspiring books, plays, films, and art. For Gina Perry, the story of the experiments never felt finished. Listening to participants' accounts and reading Milgram's unpublished files and notebooks, she pieced together an intriguing, sensational story: Milgram's plans went further than anyone had imagined. This is the compelling tale of one man's ambition and of the experiment that defined a generation.

A vivid, beautifully imagined story about the lengths we'll go in order to belong'Beautiful writing - tender and engaging. A wonderful novel' FAVEL PARRETT'Gina Perry has written from the heart to create a story of tenderness, struggle and love' TONY BIRCH'Paints the relationships between parents and children in all their complexity - the evasions that are practised out of love, or pragmatism, or self-delusion ... A debut novel of rare subtlety and vision' JOCK SERONG For nine-year-old Ruby, travelling the country with her charismatic father Mitch and busking for a living is the only life she's ever known. Mitch has been the centre of Ruby's world since she was a baby, and much as she's curious about her mother who died soon after Ruby was born, talk of her is taboo.When repairs to their ageing Kombi strand them in a small coastal town, Ruby is drawn to the town and its people and gains a glimpse of family life starkly different to her own. But when Mitch is ready to leave, Ruby is caught between her loyalty to her father and the safety of the place that's offered her a taste of normal life, causing a rift between them that will take years to heal.When Mitch sweeps back in town and into Ruby's adult life, his arrival is like a tidal wave, bringing more questions as Ruby grapples with the legacy of her childhood. For her, the only way forward is to confront the past and the secret of a mother Ruby's never known ... and what Mitch was escaping when he set out for a life on the road.Sometimes the family you need is the one you choose.PRAISE'Beautiful writing - tender and engaging. A wonderful novel' FAVEL PARRETT'Gina Perry has written from the heart to create a story of tenderness, struggle and love' TONY BIRCH'My Father the Whale paints the relationships between parents and children all their complexity - the evasions that are practised out of love, or pragmatism, or self-delusion. Perry is especially good on place, even when that place is an endlessly-moving Kombi van that stands in for a childhood home. Not many readers would have grown up the way Ruby does, but every reader will recognise the painful truth that our parents can never achieve the ideals they set for themselves. This is a debut novel of rare subtlety and vision.' JOCK SERONG'A heartwarming tale about yearning, belonging and finding oneself. Through the eyes of the memorable Ruby, Perry vividly recreates the rich and vibrant world of a child desperate to make sense of the strangeness of her life. With echoes of Sophie Laguna, My Father the Whale is a coming-of-age story, set against the vibrant landscape of childhood, filled with tragedy and joy. This is a novel that stays with you long after the last page is turned' MEREDITH JAFFE'A standout work of literary fiction. It's understated, heartfelt, and ultimately a profound meditation on loss, love, and familial legacy ... The kind of book in which I could happily lose myself. Indeed, I did just that, and savoured every page' LAURIE STEED