Character biographies for Child - B

Michael Anderson

Michael is a complex, erudite twenty-nine-year-old reporter for a provincial newspaper. Few understand his lack of ambition to progress his career, especially as he seems in constant conflict with his editor, both politically and professionally.

Michael was born Daniel James and was part of a gang that killed a boy after abducting him. The gang, children themselves, were sent to young offenders’ institutions. Released at 18 and on life licence, Michael and his mother were relocated with new identities to Devon and given help to start again. With qualifications attained whilst in the secure unit, Michael attended university where he met Sarah.

Both haunted and confused by his past, Michael is desperate to leave it behind, to live a normal life…but not before he can explain to himself what happened on that day nineteen years ago.

Hannah Matthews

Confident, independent, brash…Hannah is a young private detective trying to establish herself in a male-dominated world. Men find her aloof, alluring and threatening – and presume persistent chauvinism will see an end to her fatuous ambitions. Hannah is not averse to using her persuasive, if not obvious, beauty to procure information from the weaker sex. A loner with little time for friends and intimacy, she takes on demanding work, which prevents her having to think too much. Hannah lives for the moment, and is excited by the challenge of tracing five men who were involved in a notorious murder of a boy when they themselves were children. Voices from a forgotten conscience chip away, though, and Hannah begins to question the industry she occupies and those who pay her wages.

Simon Keane

At 35 Simon is young for an editor. He eats, sleeps and breathes the news in his community and commands a grudging respect from his reporters, if little else. Simon knows the value of pandering to a readership that mistrusts foreigners after the recent attacks on the Twin Towers , and his editorials are often xenophobic. Simon’s ambitions lie beyond the Oxham Gazette, which is a stepping-stone to things grander, things he deserves. He never discusses his private life with colleagues, preferring to retain an air of mystery rather than reveal his social ineptitude. He knows Michael is a talented journalist, but despises his tolerance of everything Simon hates about the world. News is never absolute nor objective in Simon’s hands. Brilliant at what he does, Simon populates an unreal world where the sound-bite and hyperbole are part of consciousness itself.

Pete Adams

Not a million miles from retirement, Pete is an old-school probation officer. Criminals can be rehabilitated, in his view, and there exists scope for befriending and mentoring them, not merely supervising and punishment. His colleagues tease him for the liberal chatterer he is. Six years ago Michael Anderson was put on to Pete’s books – a high-profile case with maximum security concerns. Michael’s past means only Pete, the home secretary, and a few others know his true identity. Over the course of their meetings, Pete’s avuncular relationship with Michael, and the conversations they have, flirt dangerously with the line of acceptable offender/officer behaviour.

Christine Anderson

Having never recovered from being told her son Michael was involved in a murder, Christine concentrates on life’s simple things – her cats, novels, survival. She had to sever all contact with her friends and family (including Michael’s father, who could not cope with the trial), and begin again in Devon – under constant fear of being exposed. She clings to Michael, and is mistrusting of people who enter their lives. Once a year she surreptitiously visits her father, strictly forbidden by the probation service. A boyfriend, the first in her new life, brings some welcome joie de vivre…but letting people in brings danger.

Sarah Hinde

Sarah wandered through life until finally going to university at 23, where she met Michael in her final year. Now working for the local authority, she finds employment for disabled people, but at 33 is caught between the frustration of not using her degree in the parochial Oxham, and the beginnings of biological urges to start a family; she is desperate to recreate what her parents have. Life feels like it is passing her by and Sarah thinks moving away from Oxham and Michael’s controlling mother will improve their lives. She loves Michael deeply but wishes he would let her in more. Sarah knows nothing of Michael’s horrific past, and finds his selective indifference inexplicable and difficult to cope with at times. She longs for a more spiritual existence.