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[anef]

Went to see a couple of items at the Cambridge Wordfest this morning, with ms_cataclysm. 

First up was a discussion with Jill Paton-Walsh who finished writing the last Dorothy Sayers book about Peter Wimsey, Thrones, Dominations, and Nicola Upson who has just written a detective story with Josephine Tey as the detective.  Having said to myself, 'Josephine Tey - how dare she!'  when I first saw the novel in print, I have now been won over to at least being willing to read it.  Upson explained that she started off trying to write a literary biography of the author, but although her dual careers as a playwright and crime writer have been well documented, there was nothing much in existence about her private life, and the project more or less foundered, although Upson did manage to interview a number of her theatre cronies including John Gielgud.

Jill Paton Walsh has been an author I  have long admired, ever since reading Farewell Great King many years ago, and then more recently Lapsing among many other excellent novels.  She was on the panel as a detective story writer, and mentioned in passing that she was the second choice to finish the Sayers novel after PD James, who had said that it couldn't be done.  I must say I think we have been (or rather the novel was) preserved from a terrible fate as I can't believe James's rather chilly, charmless style would have done it any favours.  Walsh also revealed that she felt qualified to write about Lord Peter Wimsey as she had been in love with him since the age of 14, and therefore had the insight into his character that a lover would have.  Speaking as someone who has also been in love with Wimsey since age 14, I fully support the endeavour.  She commented rather sadly that one reason why she loved Wimsey was that he was one of the very few men (in her experience) who actually wanted to marry a woman who was his intellectual equal.  And finally she revealed that she had plans to write another Wimsey novel (hurrah!).

Then on to Sara Paretsky, interviewed by Michell Spring.  Paretsky is, as you might expect, intelligent and articulate, and has a lovely deep, slow voice.  She talked about her new book, Bleeding Kansas, and how Kansas seemed to be a microcosm of cultural clashes in America. There was a  large plastic model of a cow on stage behind her, which seemed to be deliberate.

Then we went and ate sushi.

Comments

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

I saw JPW at Durham LitFest in 2004; she was talking then of a third Wimsey novel, and seemed to relish the prospect of writing one that was all Paton Walsh, unfettered by Sayers.

Also, saw the Upton book reviewed in Saturday's Guardian, and shared your reservations about it. Your comments are encouraging - I'll look out for it.

[anef.livejournal.com]

JPW said that there were a lot of people who criticised bits of Thrones, Dominations, on the ground that "Dorothy Sayers would never have written that!" Needless to say they were the bits that Sayers herself had written. Of course, Dorothy Sayers wasn't constrained to write like herself, whereas JPW was.