William Sutton's Blog, page 29
July 31, 2016
Victorian Ads
Day 1 #LovelyAds #VictorianLondon
If wanting a steady woman,
one might prescribe a Female Remedy
with envigorating – or enervating – ingredients.
July 27, 2016
Launching Lawless #2
At the Portsmouth launch of Lawless and the #FlowersofSin, there were high jinks aplenty, courtesy of some warming Pimm’s and Head Case Curios‘ Victorian accoutrements.
I am indebted to Joanna West and Brian for Blackwell’s unstinting support and advice,
to Diana Bretherick for generous Q & A; look out for her paperback launch in the autumn.
(I can’t believe I chose Dr Jekyll, Charlotte Bronte and Oedipus for my fantasy crime dinner party.)
Q & A with Diana Bretherick
To Carrie and all at Le Cafe Parisien,
to phenomenal musician Jamie West (& to Lucy, Megan and Alfie who took me to see Jekyll & Hyde at The Petersfield School which kicked off #FlowersofSin creative ideas),
to John Sutton and Nina McIlwain,
to Asher Design & Print for biscuit labels & posters,
Overwhelmed by kind words of friends, who were or weren’t able to attend the launch on Tuesday.
Lovely pictures by Nina McIlwain and Joanna West, with more to come from Lucy Prosser.
Thanks to friends from Portsmouth Writers’ Hub, a source of support & pleasure for all,
to pupils from Murder at the Theatre at New Theatre Royal,
friends from Star and Crescent,
from Doodle Club at the Wave Maiden,
novelist, poet, and playwright friends,
to Sue & Olly for biscuit making help,
to Forbidden Planet for biscuit concept,
to Tony and Zoe of Head Case Curios for the steampunk accoutrements,
to all of you who attended or supported from afar,
and to Caroline.
Launching Flowers
Daguerreotypes & kinematographic extracts of London launch, Lawless and the #FlowersofSin, 14 July 2016, described by our friends at Forbidden Planet as “the best signing ever”.
Flickr slideshow and
Regrettable YouTube Clips
Running Order
Pre 6 Mingling and biscuitry
6.00 Richness (Jamie West) performed by Noel Le Bon, Roddy McDevitt & myself
6.05 Welcome. The Old Main Drag, by The Pogues
6.15 Flowers Cabaret
6.30 Ooh, the Victorians (an EarWorm of Euston Square)
6.35 Steampunk dress up. Taking a biscuit. Signing
7 The Royal George, Charing Cross Road (whose cellars were recently flooded with sewage by Crossrail works, in eerie remembrance of Devil of Euston Sq).
Thanks again to all of you who attended or supported from afar. I was chuffed to have friends from education primary, secondary, and tertiary, from drama antics, cafe singing & Hall Grove school where I teach now.
Thanks to top agent Phil Patterson,
to Forbidden Planet,
to Miranda, Philly, Lydia & Chris at Titan Books,
to Head Case Curios for steampunk accessories,
to unrepentant troubadour Noel Le Bon,
to bodhran bombardier Roddy McDevitt,
to John Sutton,
to Nina McIlwain, photographer/videographer,
to Tessa Ditner, photographer and editor supreme,
and to Caroline for biscuitry, reading, inspiration and everything.
July 26, 2016
Extracts from Lawless and the Flowers of Sin
Fantastical Librarian:
The Urchin Lexicographer
She took two pamphlets from her pocket. “Exhibit the first: Dugdale-Hotten’s catalogue for 1864, for the discerning erotobibliophile.”
Darlington sniggered at the list of authors: Terence O’Tooleywag, Paddy Strongcock, and Timothy Touchit. “Where do they find this filth?”
(See also Slang #1, Slang #2, Slang #3)
Civilian Reader
The Commissioner of Scotland Yard
Lawless receives his task from the Scotland Yard Commissioner: a census of sin.
Star and Crescent:
The Path of Filth
Sergeant Lawless explores the nightlife of Soho in his role as inspector of vice.
Reviews #FlowersofSin
Shots Mag:
“A thrilling investigation in a teeming metropolis at the height of its power and wealth where some in the highest levels of society are implicated in corruption, crime and vice. This is an intricate plot that ticks along like the workings of a precision instrument and well worth the read.”
“Can Lawless deliver the evidence to the Enquiry and will his witnesses appear to testify against their enslavers? Can he prove who is behind this criminal operation?”
The Bookbag:
“Lawless and the Flowers of Sin is a rarity in the world of historical fiction, it titillates with tales of bawdy backroom brothels whilst inspiring injustice and outrage at the hypocrisy of the so called war against the Great Social Evil.”
“Sutton’s use of language creates characters that leap off the page.”
“There are moments of true beauty and by turn, artless violence but neither the sin nor the scandal are overplayed and even the most horrific events are kept under wraps. This is not a book for those lovers of gore; rather the insidious grime of the era, the sheer bone chafing and laborious task of daily living is what permeates the reader’s consciousness.”
“The Flowers of Sin is a meditation on the Victorian era and whilst it is an enjoyable, easy to read romp which lovers of historical fiction will surely enjoy, it is also much more than that.”
#FlowersofSin Sinful Blogs
Blog Tour #FlowersofSin
When Titan Books announced my Sinful Blog Tour, I was ambivalent: had I so much to say on what sounded so religious a theme? Turns out that the themes of sin are also the themes of literature, of politics, of life, of love. Here’s a round-up of the fun and vitriol I’ve poured out while visiting such lively blogs.
London Pride: Flash Gent’s Guide to Swinging (18)60s London (It Takes a Woman)
Envy: “Envy. An underrated sin, I commend it to novelists.” (Rising Shadow)
Wrath, Righteous Wrath : Dickensian London is still with us ( Madwoman in the Attic )
Gluttony v Austerity: Taking our Country Back…to the 1860s (Linda’s Book Bag)
Sloth: Done the Crime, Now Do CrimeFest, with Dark-Readers.com
Lust: Walter and his erotic memoir My Secret Life, on Bookmoodreviews.com
Greed/Avarice: Getting Our Country Back with SugarQuills.
More on my #FlowersofSin blog tour, courtesy of @TitanBooks, taking the chance to rant about novels I love, politics I abhor, & #SinfulBiscuitry for Lawless and the Flowers of Sin.
1. Pride: London Pride: The Flash Gent’s Guide to Swinging (18)60s London .
Blog Tour: Lawless and the Flowers of Sin – Pride | It Takes A Woman
Five naughty night spots in Victorian London: places and books are crucial in The Flowers of Sin and Lawless & the Devil of Euston Square, eg T***f***d Street. To these rooms rented by the hour, the priapic Walter (see below) brought girls so young that the taxi-driver overcharged him in disgust. (1849-65: 6.5% of female admissions to one venereal hospital were under sixteen.)”
2. Envy: : “Envy. An underrated sin, I commend it to novelists everywhere.”
Envy drives enemies together, pulls friends apart, warps relationships, divides countries. It fixates on love, family, money, possessions, or a whole life.
Unequal friendships feature in many of my favourite novels. There are novels narrated by a sidekick, a right-hand man or a minor character, where the main character is beatified or idealised or aggrandised in a way that neither a third person narrative nor an autobiographical style can manage.
Envy makes for wonderful novels. I commend it thoroughly to any writer.
3. Wrath, Righteous Wrath: Dickensian London is still with us (Madwoman in the Attic)
“The media whip up frenzies about crime, immigration, eco-disaster. To speak against the status quo is to be branded a danger to the nation. 1859. How unimaginably different from today…”
4. Gluttony v Austerity: a Trip Back in Time
With the advance of Progress promised after the War, inequality decreased. Why is it now again on the rise? “Take your country back,” we were told. Back to the 1960s, before all the wishy-washy-pinko-egalitarian nonsense? Back to the 1860s, before women’s rights, worker’s rights, free education, enfranchisement.
Back to the 1960s, before all the wishy-washy-pinko-egalitarian nonsense? Back to the 1860s, before women’s rights, worker’s rights, free education, enfranchisement? “
5. Sloth: You Done the Crime, Now Do CrimeFest, with Dark-Readers.com
Q “How many characters should you have?”
A “Start off with a few. End with less.” (@NevFountain)
6. Lust
The epic erotic memoir, Walter’s My Secret Life, casts a long shadow over my novel. This real life sex addict tells of his encounters with women high and low, willing and unwilling, for payment and for pleasure (and, frequently, both). It is hard to read of the insouciant Yellow-Haired Kitty, who insists she is not yet a prostitute butmerely sleeping with men for “pies and pastries”, without rethinking our understanding of sex work.”
7. Greed/Avarice: Getting Our Country Back with SugarQuills
“Man is still the pie that bakes and eats itself, I’m afraid, Mr Gray. The oven is getting hotter.”
Here endeth my #FlowersofSin blog tour, courtesy of @TitanBooks, to trumpet the publication of Lawless and the Flowers of Sin.
Interviews
#FlowersofSin Interviews: with Mieneke van der Salm, a Fantastical Librarian: ‘“Doing your research?” says my wife, glancing at the Victorian filth on my screen.’
With Charlotte Briere on That’s Solent TV: “Courtesans, corsets and trafficking. …You are not only a writer, you are a biscuit-maker.”
July 14, 2016
Sinful Biscuitry: Lawless Learns
Overwhelmed by kind words of friends, who were or weren’t able to attend the launch on Tuesday.
Lovely pictures by Nina McIlwain and Joanna West, with more to come.
Thanks to lovely friends from Portsmouth Writers’ Hub, which has been such a source of support & pleasure,
to friends from Star and Crescent,
from Doodle Club at the Wave Maiden, …
pupils from Murder at the Theatre at New Theatre Royal,
to Joanna West and Brian for unstinting support at Blackwell’s in Portsmouth,
to Diana Bretherick for generous Q & A (Oedipus!)
to Carrie and all at Le Cafe Parisien Portsmouth,
to phenomenal musician Jamie West (& Lucy, Megan and Alfie who took me to see Jekyll & Hyde at The Petersfield School which kicked off the idea),
to John and Nina,
to Asher Design & Print for biscuit labels & posters,
to Forbidden Planet for biscuit concept,
Sue & Olly for biscuit decorating skills & stapling support,
to Head Case Curios for the steampunk accoutrements,
to all of you who attended or supported from afar,
to Miranda, Philly, Lydia & Chris at Titan Books,
to top agent Phil Patterson,
and to Caroline for biscuit acumen, insight & much more.
#FlowersofSin Blog Tour
Here’s my #FlowersofSin blog tour, courtesy of Titan Books, to coincide with the publication of Lawless and the Flowers of Sin in which I rant about novels I love, politics I hate, & #SinfulBiscuitry.
Pride: Day 1. London Pride: The Flash Gent’s Guide to Swinging (18)60s London: thanks to Stacey of It Takes a Woman
Envy: Day 2. Rising Shadow: “Envy. An underrated sin, I commend it to novelists everywhere.”
Wrath: Day 3. Madwoman in the Attic. Thanks, Lisa. “Righteous Wrath: Dickensian London is still with us.”
Coming up: Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Greed.
July 12, 2016
That’s Solent TV
Interview about Lawless and the #FlowersofSin with That’s Solent TV.
“You are not only a novelist, you are also a biscuit-maker,” proclaims Charlotte Briere-Edney.
(This will be written on my next novel’s cover.)
I somehow fail to credit my wife’s biscuit design and governance.
