The Secret Lives Of Sgt John Wilson Character Analysis

“The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson: A True Story of Love and Murder” is studied as a historical non-fiction novel, in which Lois Simmie shows the reader the actions of a man who sets his life up in a series of lies and betrayal. Her purpose is clear, to intrigue the audience with a true story of the murder of Polly Wilson, which had not yet been heard. Though not a lot of people had ever heard of John Wilson, the first ever Saskatchewan RNWMP officer who was found guilty of a crime, being that he killed his wife, and hung to his death. She writes her novel that is not only entertaining to her audience but also serves the purpose of educating fellow Canadians about the true life events that followed John Wilson and his fellow RNWMP officers.

The purpose of entertaining and educating makes it worth-while to write this novel. There are two sides to her story, but the side set and accomplished is that of the tragic story of Polly Wilson, her purpose was not to add pity for Polly but to gain understanding of the events that unfolded.
Polly Wilson was left by her husband in Scotland while he was to come to Canada for no more than 1 year.

Years after he had not returned and Polly was left without answers of his whereabouts, her love for her husband led her to travel blindly to find him and be by his side. Soon after she arrived in Canada a series of fateful events unfolded that led her untimely death. John Wilson had murdered his wife to be by the side of his young, unsuspecting mistress. Simmie states that “And as I wrote about Polly Wilson I thought often of my grandmother, Annie Thomson, who came to Ontario from Scotland as a young woman ----She was a courageous, resourceful woman with a strong faith and like Polly Wilson, she worked as a seamstress.” (p 216). This connection to her grandmother sparked a passion for the story and led her to begin her research into the Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson. John Wilson led a life of lies, much to the point that he no longer knew the truth. Simmie took every accurate detail of his recorded life, personal and professional, and used her knowledge to tell the story of a man so desperate and broken, no boundary was too far, the act of murder nothing but a means to an

end.
Simmie captivates her audience from the beginning by immediately portraying the brutal murder of a lone woman, “that woman under the culvert did not die of natural causes.

No one is investigating her death.” (p 2). She takes the audience through detailed real life events, she keeps the story flowing while educating the audience on Canadian, particularly Saskatchewan, history. From the history of the RNWMP (which developed into the RCMP), the building of the Canadian Railway, the dreadful war that led to the spread of the Spanish Flu and so much more. She engages the audience with the lives of the people surrounding John Wilson while continuing to focus the attention on the trusting wife, Mrs. Polly Wilson. Entertainment flows thickly throughout the entire read as we engage in every love letter written, and every dirty secret

told.
“It’s the awful thought that he who professed to love her so much could do such a crude and cruel deed and rob his own little ones of their darling mother” – Elizabeth Craig (p 202). Polly’s sister Elizabeth gives us an in depth feel for recognizing the person Polly was, and if it wasn’t for her love and determination for finding the truth about her sister, Polly Wilson’s story would have remained unknown. The way Simmie consistently draws Polly into the novel, whether by Polly’s letters or by Elizabeth’s, she keeps the readers focus on the events that surrounded Polly Wilson. While allowing the reader to relate to many aspects, such as the frustrations Sgt. Wilson may have been going through to the adolescent love that Jessie Patterson was experiencing, she has a way of always keeping in tune with Polly Wilson. Her dedication into the love story behind the case, from every letter she retrieved from the case file, is what allowed the audience to know with certainty Polly’s story.
A monstrous and cunning John Wilson almost got away with murder. He was a master of lies and running away from his problems while being able to justify his actions. While Simmie could have written a clumsy novel about incompetent officers and dedicated detectives, her personal attachment to so many aspects of the novel led her to tell a story of greater magnitude. She manages to encompass the true details of life and the events that unfolded around them. She tells the story of Polly by telling the story of John Wilson, and how the motivation for lust and greed can ruin the love and trust of innocence. The talent for her vivid imagery remains undisputable. This novel is and will continue to be a fascinating read for Canadians, especially those from Saskatchewan.

Polly’s Story

ELA 30A
Karen Auchstetter

Michelle Harrabek