The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson A biography is defined as the life history of an individual written by someone else. The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson is a biography of a Mountie who killed his first wife and unborn child when he fell in love with a younger woman. Unlike novels which contain fiction, this is a true crime story. The author, Lois Simmie, used factual material (exhibits) from a Canadian criminal trial and these facts cannot be disputed. John Wilson was a murderer. The method to his madness is found in his persona, the way he lied with ease, and the deceptive words he wrote with his own pen. All these facts give insight as to the kind of human being John Wilson was. In Scotland, his first wife Polly Hutchinson, waited …show more content…
Polly, your old man is missing you and I know you are wearing it also. I think you will like this place better than Regina, Polly.’ (p. 69). He lied about anything that made him come out in a positive light. Wilson continuously used the distance from Scotland to his full advantage. He convinced and fooled everyone with letters, his own brother was no exception. ‘Dear Archie, I am writing this to tell you what awful trouble Polly and I have had since our Spanish influenza broke out. You can tell Father and Mother, Archie, that I spared no expense on Polly since she got laid up. I am paying one nurse $30.00 and the other $25.00 per week and I have already paid the doctor $300.00.’ (p. 100-101). Even after he killed Polly, he lied to her family and actually had the audacity to ask for money. Addressed to William Hutchinson, he cabled, ‘POLLY AND I FOUND GOOD HOUSE. CAN YOU CABLE £100? JACK’ (p. 95). To explain Polly’s lack of communication after he killed her, Wilson cabled Mrs. Wismore (landlady) as well, ‘I DID NOT KNOW YOU WOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT ME. HAVE BEEN TRAVELLING ROUND WITH JACK FROM PLACE TO PLACE. WHEN SETTLED WILL WRITE. POLLY’ (p. 96). These are only a few of the many lies one