The Death of Dame Hilary Mantel

Former Knaphill resident and author Dame Hilary Mantel dies... I am sad to report the death of Dame Hilary Mantel in Exeter, Devon, on Thursday, 22 September, writes Mal Foster.

Aged 70, she was the acclaimed author of the Booker Prize-winning novel Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. The trilogy's final book, The Mirror & The Light, was published in 2020 and became an instant Sunday Times bestseller.

Hilary Mantel, 6 July 1952 - 22 September 2022

Mantel had strong Woking connections, living with her husband, Gerald McEwan, in a penthouse at Florence House, which was once part of Brookwood Hospital in Knaphill. Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies were written during her ten years at the iconic residence.

The couple later moved to Budleigh Salterton in Devon but would often return to the Woking area to visit friends when travelling to London and the home counties to appear at various functions and in the media.

Indeed, I last saw Hilary with Gerald in January 2019, in Sainsbury’s, Knaphill, just before the Covid 19 outbreak whilst they were on one of those visits. In earlier days, I had corresponded with Gerald, who had always taken an interest in our local community.

Florence House, Knaphill
where Mantel lived with her husband, Gerald

in the early 2000s

In 2014, Hilary famously brought about the attention of the police following the fictionalised account of the murder of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1983. The short story entitled, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher led Mantel to respond to allies of Thatcher by saying, ‘Bringing in the police for an investigation was beyond anything I could have planned or hoped for because it immediately exposes them to ridicule.’ And it did!

Mal Foster

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

 

1926-2022

The 'impact' of sculptor, Sean Henry on Woking

The Woking Writers’ Collective has enhanced many of its posts here on the blog and on Twitter with photographs of the sculptures by Woking-born Sean Henry that are situated around the town. These are now on permanent display.  Sean Henry is married with three children and now lives in Winchester, Hants.

Sean Henry with two of his works which are now on display in Henry Plaza at Victoria Place, Woking
Pic: Courtesy Sean Henry 

 

It’s time for The Woking Writers' Collective to fully acknowledge Sean Henry’s impact on Woking and his fine sculptures, which are crafted in the human form...

 

Sean Henry's, The Wanderer

One of the sculptures is ‘The Wanderer’, which many would have seen outside the town-side of Woking railway station. In 2013 he was originally on display in Bad Homburg, Germany. A couple of years later, the statue popped up in Sydney, Australia, before being transported to its current location here in Woking.

Sleeping Man, Woking

The addition of Sean Henry’s statues to Woking town centre has given the whole place a cultural feel, complimenting the already popular The War of the Worlds Martian tripod as depicted in the famous H.G. Wells’ novel, and of course The Lightbox museum along Victoria Way.  

 

Greg Freeman and Henry's The Standing Man
Pic: Courtesy Woking News & Mail

The statues have also inspired West Byfleet poet Greg Freeman to put pen to paper, writing a series of back-stories which were published in his 2021 collection, Marples Must Go, under the subtitle, All the Lonely People. 

Above, Walking Woman, Commercial Way, Standing Man, Jubilee Square, 

Seated Man, Woking Railway Station,

and Standing Woman, Peacocks Centre, Woking

You can find out much, much more about Sean and his work on his website @  https://www.seanhenry.com/

Original photographs by Mal Foster

“What now? I’m at the fictional crossroads…”, says Mal Foster

My latest novel, Fluke’s Cradle, was published in April, a book I’m very proud of, but one I fear is also very difficult to follow...

Signing copies of Fluke's Cradle at its official launch in Knaphill, Woking

 

It’s my fifth novel and, Eddie Noble is its protagonist. Like, Tommy Compton, Jack Compton and Harry Rogers from my other books,  they’re all what you might call vulnerable types, the kind of lost souls my lovely loyal band of readers have always endeared to. 

Now though, do I break the mould? Change direction, genre? Do I write from a different perspective and change the protagonist’s voice?  

The idea for a new novel is very much in its infancy. A crime and mystery affair, linking two very true but separate stories as I combine a missing person’s case in the south with a shocking murder in the north. 

As with any good fiction based on a true story (or stories), there's always a need to take reality and give it a full makeover. During which period do I set it? There must be subplots and a backdrop. Who will be the supporting characters, and where will they come from? From there, poetic licence and the imagination can run riot!

My subconscious has always acted as my spirit guide, told me what to say, and showed me where to put the words… It feverishly combats any fatigue or writer’s block, as some people might call it. It creates and fuels direction. 

I’ve always found that the battle is virtually won once the first chapter is written down. Then, after a few months, and with something that resembles a finished manuscript, I experience a sense of semi-achievement, whilst knowing that the arduous editing process and the tricky route to publication is yet to come. 

After each book has been sent to the publisher, I've always wondered, how the hell did I write that? How? 

Now though, this person, this voice inside my head, matters as I need him to make the next book happen. The same voice that once told me, “The pen is mightier than the sword!” Even though I write using a laptop, of course! 

www.malfoster.co.uk

 

Harriet's twelfth novel, due out in November!

Many of you by now will be familiar with Harriet Steel’s Inspector de Silva mystery series... 

Harriet Steel

Harriet’s twelfth book in the series, Stardust in Nula, is scheduled for a November publication. It features Inspector Shanti de Silva, a middle-aged policeman who moved from the island's capital, Colombo, to the beautiful hill country in search of a more peaceful life for himself and his British wife, Jane.  The landscape is idyllic, with the vibrant green of tea plantations cloaking the hills, lush trees and flowers, and abundant wildlife. But even in the midst of this paradise, murder and mayhem are never far away, and life isn’t as quiet as Inspector de Silva had planned. 

Harriet says, “Writing a series has its challenges, and if I’m honest, I never expected this one to run to so many books. However, it’s been a delight to see how readers have taken Shanti and Jane and their world into their hearts.  Their appetite for more stories doesn’t seem to diminish, and so as long as that’s the case, I’m happy to dream up new adventures. I aim to give readers an entertaining puzzle to solve in the style of Agatha Christie without a lot of gore. "

'Stardust in Nuala' is due out in November

"As far as inspiration goes, I feel that I know my characters pretty well by now. When they start jumping about on the page,  ideas usually flow quite easily. In the case of Stardust in Nuala my starting point was the film world. I expect most people have heard of Bollywood, but it’s perhaps less well known that India had a thriving film industry long before Bollywood, with all its glitz and glamour, burst on the scene in the 1960s. It was lots of fun researching this earlier period. 

I can’t really reveal the inspiration for the novel’s subplot without giving too much away, so I’ll just say that it was sparked off by a report I saw of a very strange but comical incident that happened a few years ago in Vancouver.” 

All Harriet’s books are available via Amazon, and you can find out more by visiting her website at: https://harrietsteel.com/

Other books in The Inspector de Silva mystery series

Coming soon, Lelita's new novel, 'A Machine of Fingers'...

Woking author Lelita Baldock is currently preparing her fourth novel, A Machine of Fingers, for publication through her agent, InterSaga. 

Lelita Baldock

Lelita's new book is set at a crossroads in the history of France as the country strives to heal from the excesses of the French Revolution. A Machine of Fingers is intended to be a dramatic page-turner based on unexplored history, driven by intrigue and powerful female protagonists. 

A historical fiction mystery with elements of women’s fiction, Lelita says that her new novel should interest readers who enjoy stories derived from history that are seated in raw reality. It uncovers the little-known impact of the French Revolution and the race to mechanise textiles on the female lace-workers of France. 

Lelita has also been busy with many other projects; she’s in talks to arrange a book signing event in Richmond, Surrey, that will also be open to her fellow authors. She has also been invited as a guest speaker to an audience at a Historical Fiction retreat in Spain and is frantically looking at dates and whether this will be something she can readily accept. There are also a series of Literary Festivals coming up in London during September and October that she hopes to attend.

Lelita has also recently re-released her crime fiction novel The Unsound Sister with an eye-catching new cover in preparation for a sequel.

Lelita's New Book Cover