Three Literary Giants Confront Australia's Most Notorious Murder Case
When Erin Patterson was found guilty in July of murdering three people – her in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, along with Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson – and attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, the case captivated Australia. The subsequent life sentence with a non-parole period of 33 years, and Patterson's current appeal against conviction, became national talking points that dominated public discourse for years.
An Unlikely Collaboration in the Courtroom
Over eleven intense weeks at Morwell's courtroom four in Victoria, three of Australia's most celebrated nonfiction writers – Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein – occupied the public seats, observing every detail of the baroque trial proceedings. Their presence sparked speculation about potential literary works in development. Just one week after the guilty verdict, Text Publishing confirmed the rumours by announcing the trio would collaborate on The Mushroom Tapes.
The authors approached this project with significant reservations, acknowledging the moral complexities of true crime writing. "People say to us, you must be going. No, we answer. No. No. No," they write, yet found themselves drawn to Morwell regardless. They describe how "the current of the story has a stronger pull than we had expected," capturing their internal conflict between compulsion and resistance.
Conversations on the Road to Morwell
Originally conceived as a podcast, much of The Mushroom Tapes derives from transcripts of conversations recorded during the authors' travels between Melbourne and Morwell. The book presents as a work of oral literature transferred to the page – intimate dialogues between friends, between women. These conversations retain the immediacy of live commentary, complete with everyday asides like Garner's offer: "If anybody wants a mandarin or a biscuit, just kindly scream out and I'll pass it over."
Hooper captures the public's divided reaction to the case: "People are obsessed. I run into someone at my kids' sport, or the hairdresser, or wherever – they're either listening to two podcasts a day and know more detail about the trial than I do, or they're equally as strongly repulsed." This cultural moment forms the backdrop to their journey as they grapple with understanding how Erin Patterson reached this point, exploring themes of marriage, class, sex, money, and women's lives.
The authors don't shy away from their ethical dilemmas. Their transcribed conversations capture fleeting disagreements and moral uncertainties, particularly regarding their research methods. When considering driving past Patterson's house, the exchange reveals their discomfort: Chloe: "Are we really going to drive past Erin's house? I feel unsure about this." Sarah: "For me, it's a normal part of doing research." Helen: "We're not knocking on anyone's door, for God's sake."
The Human Cost and Lasting Impact
Hooper voices the collective unease about true crime as entertainment: "This trial is being used for public entertainment. I feel squeamish about joining the pile-on." Yet they proceed, giving due attention to the victims while writing with particular compassion about Erin and Simon Patterson's unnamed children. Krasnostein delivers one of the book's most memorable lines: "they've been handed this bag of stones that they'll carry for the rest of their lives."
Despite their reservations, Erin Patterson captivates the authors. Krasnostein observes her bouncing "between smallness and grandiosity," while Hooper notes she "radiates discontent." Most strikingly, Garner reveals: "It's not that I'm big-hearted or anything, it's just that I have this awful feeling – that could be me." This sense of connection deepens when they discover they're "variously connected to Erin Patterson and the wider family." After watching Patterson testify, Garner observes that "the gap between her and me shrank down really small."
The Mushroom Tapes reflects our contemporary moment through its formal commitment to immediacy and rapid publication schedule. While extremely readable, the book ultimately joins the extensive public chatter about the Patterson case. The conversation shows no signs of stopping – a national speaking tour with the authors sold out well before the book's publication date. Published in Australia by Text Publishing for $36.99, the book reaches UK audiences on 20th November, ensuring this family tragedy will continue to provoke discussion and analysis.
