December - Ann Featherstone
Ann Featherstone
Ann Featherstone is an internationally-published writer, with translations of her books in both French and Italian. She writes historical novels which are set in the entertainment world of the 19th century, and specialises in that area of theatre-history in her day job, teaching undergraduates at the University of Manchester. She lives in Ilkeston, Derbyshire with her son, James, and her springer spaniel, Holly.
To view Ann’s writer profile on the Writing East Midlands Writers’ Database please see here.
The Newgate Jig
A hanging always draws a crowd. But not everyone there has come to jeer at the condemned man. George Kevill’s young son Barney is in the front row, and he knows his father is innocent. There are others there who know George is innocent, too – and the men who set him up have every reason to want to silence his boy…
Narrowly escaping the clutches of the sinister Nasty Man, young Barney finds sanctuary at the London Aquarium amongst his father’s bohemian friends: Bob Chapman, whose performing dogs Brutus and Nero astonish audiences every night, the exquisite doll-lady, Princess Tiny and her admirer, the giant Herr Swann. Together with Fortinbras Horatio Trimmer, aspiring novelist and meantime author of penny dreadful and popular plays, they will protect Barney and seek to uncover the conspiracy behind a dark secret that lies at the heart of Victorian establishment.
Read the first chapter of The Newgate Jig here!
Writing East Midlands caught up with Ann and chatted about her writing career:
Your latest novel was The Newgate Jig, which was shortlisted for the East Midlands Book Award. Can you tell us a bit about the book?
The Newgate Jig is quite a dark story, narrated by Bob Chapman, a small-time performer, who has a pair of Sagacious Canines, Brutus and Nero. We follow Bob through the dangerous streets of London as he is unwillingly witness to murder. He has friends at the East London Aquarium – Princess Tiny, a diminutive person, and Herr Swann, the giant – and at the Pavilion Theatre – Will Lovegrove, the leading actor and Fortinbras Horatio Trimmer, a dramatist. Bob and his friends discover many ugly secrets as well as the power of love and friendship.
What is it that attracts you to the Victorian period?
Well, we are familiar with the 19th century, of course: we feel we know it, from Dickens, BBC Classic Serials through to Oliver!, the Pre-Raphaelites and Jack the Ripper. In many ways, this makes the novelist’s task easy. Most people already have a mental picture, particularly of Victorian London. But I’d be fibbing if I said I was attracted to the 19th century because it was easy to write about. What fascinated me most when I was doing the research for my PhD on popular entertainment was digging about in the underworld of the Victorian age. So not the major theatres, concert halls and exhibitions, but the penny gaffs, the free-and-easies and the freak shows. And there is a surprising amount of material available now that newspapers are online, as well as books and many journals. I like the visual detail of the Illustrated London News, and I used many of the illustrations from that as ideas for scenes in The Newgate Jig, particularly ones showing the excavations of streets in London where sewers and the underground railway were being built. I like the lack of restraint also. The permission that Victorians gave themselves to enjoy the waxworks or the dubious pleasures of the freak show. There is something very immediate about this, and I like moments when I can ‘be’ a Victorian and ‘experience’ these low-life pleasures!
Are your works inspired by real life events, situations and individuals?
Oh yes, certainly. I’m an avid collector of incidents and reports from Victorian newspapers. Court reports are a particular favourite. It seems that all human life passed through Bow Street Magistrates court during the 19th century, from child thieves to women dressed as men to butchers selling bad meat. I like the court proceedings, especially those dealing with murders and violent crime. Newspapers often include verbatim reports. Court reporters really knew how to tell a story! I don’t base characters on particular individuals as far as I am aware, but I do have a mental picture of most of my characters. Actually, I have a clearer mental picture of the places and they are an amalgamation of pictures, illustrations and sometimes buildings I’ve seen. Strangely, every time I think of the East London Aquarium (from The Newgate Jig) the Waterstone’s building on Bridlesmith Gate in Nottingham pops into my head!
Who are the writers who have particularly inspired you, and the way you write? Are there any new writers you admire?
Charles Dickens, of course, for his love of language. He can make me laugh and cry by turns. Wilkie Collins for his plotting, a true master. The French writer Emile Zola, the Dickens of Paris. I first read Germinal when I was in my teens and have been hooked ever since. One day I will read all of his Rougon-Macquart novels – perhaps when I have more time on my hands. I am a devotee of the classic ghost story so M R James has to be included, as does Sheridan Le Fanu. I admire Sarah Waters and have enjoyed Sarah Dunant and Peter Carey. I am afraid, though, that I am a Victorianist at heart!
How long have your been writing, and was it something you always wanted to do?
Yes, since I was at school. I always filled more story books than anyone else. In my teens I wrote poetry and plays and won prizes. I‘ve got files and books full of stories, finished and half competed, but I’ve come to writing novels rather late. It seemed that having done all the academic research there were many stories to tell, and the best way to tell them was through a novel.
Tell us a bit about your writing environment and process – do you have a particular place where you write, or time of day, or number of words you hope to achieve?
Ah well, I’m a full-time academic (I work at the University of Manchester) and so to sit down during the day and write is something of a luxury! I write at weekends, when I’m not preparing a lecture or marking essays, and during the vacation. I have a computer in my office, but I move around quite a bit with my memory stick! I write quickly when I’ve got the impetus, and 5,000 words in a day is not unheard of. But if I get an afternoon at my desk, and no interruptions, I can usually turn out 3,000 words. I always look forward to going back over what I have written. I love revising. It’s a polishing process, like turning a rough pebble into a smooth, shiny stone. I like getting exactly the right word, and sometimes it will take a while. I often do revisions on the train to Manchester.
How much planning and research do you do when writing a new novel?
I should do more planning, but hardly every do. I just start with a scene and see what happens. It often means many false starts, but that’s the way I have to do it. I was a full-time researcher for five years, and so most of what I need is in my head. Sometimes I fish around for a picture to make sure that I’ve described a building or a scene correctly. Accumulating lurid stories from Victorian newspapers, of course, is an ongoing process and doesn’t feel like research, though I suppose it is in a way.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers wanting to get their work published?
Read a lot. See what other people are writing and have written. Read the classics. Don’t stop reading because you’re writing.
At the same time, write. Anything at all. Keep at it. Don’t worry that you might discard it, because you probably will. Go back over it. Write some more. Don’t throw it away. Save it up.
Select your agent carefully or get a recommendation. Make sure that if you are sending a manuscript you present it in exactly the way that agent requires – you can usually find this out from their website. Make sure there are no punctuation or spelling errors and that everything about your manuscript is as perfect as you can make it. Your manuscript has got to stand out from the rest. (My agent tells me that she gets 50+ unsolicited manuscripts every week.)
Be prepared to take advice. If you want to be published, people (agents, publishers) will tell you what they want from you: alter this character, change that chapter, cut that incident. You may not like it, but you will probably have to do it. You have to have a very thick skin and not feel too precious about that manuscript you have sweated over for 18 months.
What are you working on at the moment, and how is it going?
I’m on the third novel, which has a working title of The Vauxhall Vampire. It is not, I hasten to say, a rival to Twilight, though I wish it might be as successful! It’s set in the theatre and in an anatomical museum – a bit gruesome – and I’m enjoying the company of a female narrator this time, Miss Louie Roselle. I’m about 20,000 words into it, and it’s bowling along nicely. I do wish I could spend a bit more time on it, though. Maybe over Christmas.
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