The movie Heavenly Creatures was based on New Zealand s notorious 1954 murder case in which two teenage girls， Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme， killed Pauline s mother. The polite society of Christchurch was shattered not only by the murder， but also by suggestions of the girls lesbianism. Feminist scholars Julie Glamuzina and Alison J. Laurie began researching the case in 1986， almost 10 years before the film s release， to contextualize the anti-lesbian hysteria surrounding the trial. This fascinating book looks at how and why that society viewed lesbianism as evil or insane.