Introducing 'The Cat In The Bag' ...
A little while ago I re-read (and reviewed on Goodreads) Alice Thomas Ellis's book The Summer House: A Trilogy, which I first encountered back in the 1980s as three separate novellas: The Clothes In The Wardrobe, The Skeleton in the Cupboard and Fly in the Ointment. These are the first novels (along with Pat Barker's Union Street) that inspired me with the notion of viewing the same sequence of events through different perspectives!
I loved the fact that the stories were short, quirky and focussed, and although I could only warm to one of the three narrators (Mrs Monro), I found myself returning to them again and again, each time searching for something … a missing perspective, another piece of the puzzle.
Well, I never found it, so in the end I decided to write it myself. This was years ago, you understand, and all the 'writing' was done in my head, playing about with different scenes seen from another character's viewpoint, how Margaret's or Lili's or Mrs Monro's behaviour would strike them not knowing the reason behind it, etc … and it's only now, after doing my duty by My Dearest Holmes and The Coward Does it with a Kiss, that I've actually started converting it from a fantasy into a reality.
So, 'The Cat In The Bag' is currently in production! I write slowly, so don't expect a big announcement any time soon, but it's taking shape. I'm having great fun with the research, dipping not only into my own early memories of late 1950s/early 1960s South London but also into those of the wonderful Mary Datchelor School Old Girls via our Facebook Page, especially those who took the Secretarial Sixth Course!
Now, I wonder if you can guess which character in the saga of Margaret's wedding preparations I've chosen to use as my narrator? If you're familiar with the books, you'll know there are several likely candidates … if you're not, go read The Summer House: A Trilogy and see who you think deserves to be given a voice!
I loved the fact that the stories were short, quirky and focussed, and although I could only warm to one of the three narrators (Mrs Monro), I found myself returning to them again and again, each time searching for something … a missing perspective, another piece of the puzzle.
Well, I never found it, so in the end I decided to write it myself. This was years ago, you understand, and all the 'writing' was done in my head, playing about with different scenes seen from another character's viewpoint, how Margaret's or Lili's or Mrs Monro's behaviour would strike them not knowing the reason behind it, etc … and it's only now, after doing my duty by My Dearest Holmes and The Coward Does it with a Kiss, that I've actually started converting it from a fantasy into a reality.
So, 'The Cat In The Bag' is currently in production! I write slowly, so don't expect a big announcement any time soon, but it's taking shape. I'm having great fun with the research, dipping not only into my own early memories of late 1950s/early 1960s South London but also into those of the wonderful Mary Datchelor School Old Girls via our Facebook Page, especially those who took the Secretarial Sixth Course!
Now, I wonder if you can guess which character in the saga of Margaret's wedding preparations I've chosen to use as my narrator? If you're familiar with the books, you'll know there are several likely candidates … if you're not, go read The Summer House: A Trilogy and see who you think deserves to be given a voice!
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Julie
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Jun 02, 2019 05:58PM
Congratulations on the new project, Rohase! It sounds as if you'll have lots of fun with it.
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Julie wrote: "Congratulations on the new project, Rohase! It sounds as if you'll have lots of fun with it."I think I will Julie, thanks! xx
This is very exciting! And, h'mm, I'm going to have to read the trilogy first, am I not?
Charlie wrote: "This is very exciting! And, h'mm, I'm going to have to read the trilogy first, am I not?"Yes you are, and that's your Birthday present sorted lol! xx
