Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 361

A Small Joy

A London Sunday in mid-June, the weather threatening one moment, humid the next. After a luncheon at The Jugged Hare of bath chaps and langoustine, and a stroll through the arboretum in the Barbican, I find myself in St Giles-Without-Cripplegate, in the City of London, still one of the most deserted places you could be [...]

To Infinity And Beyond Hope

When I was a kid space travel was being suggested as a reality for the first time, but who would go? The greatest minds from our planet, obviously. Ambassadors from the Earth who had earned, through bravery, achievement, diligence, genius and innovation, the right to set forth into the star field as representatives at the [...]

Books For Non-Readers

I don’t approve of reviewing terrible books; The William McGonagalls of the world have always been with us, and press space is at such a premium that I usually make sure I’m recommending something good rather than complaining about lousy writing. But over the last few years a pattern has emerged whereby a poorly written [...]

We’re All Going On A Summer Holiday Part 1

I’m doing some research and thought yu might like a brief history of English holidays.

The summer holiday can be traced back as far as 1626, with the discovery of a spring at Scarborough. Drinking sea water was thought to be a cure for gout, and men and women bathed together naked.

Before the First World [...]

Bryant & May’s ‘Invisible’ Foe

Arriving on August 2nd, ‘Bryant & May and the Invisible Code’ brings you a novel of witches, murder, madness, hidden clues (there’s one on the cover) and impossible crimes, all played out in some of London’s more unusual locations. It also brings a new home for Mr Bryant and his long-suffering landlady, several new characters [...]

Four For Fear

To Hull and back – this urban-centric writer was daring to venture out of Fowler Towers to head North, but sadly I can’t be in Hull due to an unavoidable and unforeseen schedule clash which will find me heading overseas next week. However, I’ll still be at the Humber Mouth Festival in spirit, as the [...]

The Flaws That Hold Us Back

Every writer, no matter how brilliant she or he is, eventually becomes aware of the flaws in their work. They’re usually things we can’t do much about because they stem from our personalities, and going against the grain is very difficult. JG Ballard and Arthur C Clarke have often been criticised for not writing more [...]

When Two Tribes Go To War

Deciding that I’d resisted this for long enough, I thought I’d wander down and try to catch ‘Matilda’ at a matinee (if you’re by yourself you can usually still find a full-price seat even at a sell-out show like this). The Cambridge Theatre was crawling with middle-class children. They were hanging off their booster seats, [...]

Where Do Character Names Come From?

Often I adapt the names of people I know when I’m writing because they’re already in my memory bank, but I always assumed I got Bryant & May from a matchbox. Both my parents were smokers and there were always Bryant & May boxes lying around.

However, it appears the real Arthur Bryant was a knighted [...]

Kipling Comes In From The Cold

This is the short piece I wrote about Rudyard Kipling last week in the Indie.

‘Do you like Kipling?’ asks the colonel on the seaside postcard. ‘I don’t know, I’ve never Kippled,’ replies the shopgirl. But most people had, and they made him one of the most popular writers in England. Remembered mainly for children’s fables, [...]