Creative work often invites a range of critical opinions, some of which can be constructive, helping to identify mistakes and improve future work, while others might be negative and dismissive. Typically, creators accept all kinds of feedback, either with openness or, at worst, with frustration. However, what 28-year-old novelist Richard Britten did went beyond the norm.
The story begins in the United Kingdom, where Britten published a book titled “The Global Rose,” which garnered interest and readership. Among the readers was an 18-year-old girl named Paige Roland, who decided to share her impressions by writing a critical review of the book to the author online. Instead of accepting this feedback gracefully, Britten became enraged and decided to seek revenge.
In October 2014, Britten traveled from his home in England to Scotland, covering over 500 miles to confront Paige at the supermarket where she worked. Upon arrival, he found Paige kneeling on the floor, gathering items from the lower shelf, and attacked her by smashing a bottle of wine over her head without saying a word.
Paige suffered severe head injuries and reported that a stronger blow could have been fatal. She was rushed to the hospital for treatment, while Britten fled the scene. The police were able to identify and apprehend him at his home. During the trial, Britten admitted his crime, and his lawyer tried to avoid jail time by claiming he suffered from schizophrenia with delusions or personality disorder. However, the court did not accept this and sentenced him to 30 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release and a prohibition on any contact with Paige.
Paige later reported that the incident left her with psychological trauma, panic attacks, and difficulty meeting new people, as they reminded her of the attack. She also developed severe anxiety in large crowds. All this happened merely because she expressed her critical opinion about a creative work, unaware that the author had such a violent and extreme reaction to feedback.
