Plug #1: "Your Name Is..."

My first plug on this board of one of my works on Joseph Merrick. This story is told from the second person point of view, where you, the reader, are Leila Maturin. You can read the story right here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22960825/Your-Name-Is


A little background info below:
Who was Leila? She was the first woman that Joseph could remember who shook his hand, causing him to break down into tears from great emotion. He had gone all his life with no woman (aside from his mother, and his uncle's wife), ever willing to smile at him, let alone shake his hand. The deformity he had to bear every day and hour was an all-too-large barrier to ever getting close to a woman.

At first, Frederick Treves, Joseph Merrick's physician and friend, had asked Mrs Kendal, a very famous actress, if she would offer Joseph a smile and a handshake to gently ease him out of his shell, and see that not all women immediately screamed and/or fainted at the sight of him. However, unlike what the David Lynch movie and Bernard Pomerance play suggests, Joseph never met Mrs Kendal, let alone became close friends. In addition, when Joseph constructed that famous model cathedral from a model kit for Mrs Kendal, it was actually her husband who came to pick it up, not herself! When Joseph died, she returned the cathedral model to the hospital; it has survived to this very day, and if you go to the London Hospital Medical Museum one day, you will see it alongside other collected items on Joseph Carey Merrick.

So, now that Mrs Kendal had refused, then Treves had another name up his sleeve: Leila Maturin, a young widow whose husband had died only three months after they married back circa 1884. Interestingly enough, Leila was also an amatuer actress, as stated in this Facebook group topic: http://te-in.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=47271241894&topic=9035 . So, Treves might've turned to her because of her acting skills, meaning she'd be able to hide her true feelings when face to face with Joseph Merrick. She accepted his offer, and, well, the rest, as they say, is history. There is a chance that Merrick remained good friends with Leila up to his death, as suggested by the only letter found that had been written by Joseph Merrick himself. You can see an image of the letter here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/Merrick-letter.jpg Perhaps she was also one of his closest and sincere friends...if only we knew more about the relationship between Leila and Joseph! I do wonder if she even went back to London for the service at the hospital chapel after Joseph's death.

In case one cannot read Joseph's handwriting, the letter says the following:

Dear Miss Maturin
Many thanks indeed for the grouse, and the books you so kindly sent me. The grouse was splendid. I saw Mr Treves on Sunday. He said I was to give his best respects to you. I am yours truly,
Joseph Merrick
London Hospital
Whitechapel