More musings from ‘im outdoors

‘Your net for the cloakroom arrived whilst you were out.’
‘Great. Where is it?’
‘Ah. Bit of a problem. I opened the parcel.’
‘And?’
‘Managed to cut through the net. I’m sure you’ll be able to repair it.’

Golden Hill by Francis Spufford

Tags

Francis Spufford, Golden Hill, Historical Novels, Wolf Hall

An impatient, personable young man from London has himself rowed from the brig Henrietta to the New York shore of 1746 with a bill of exchange in his pocket. It’s for the huge amount of one thousand pounds – and must be honoured within sixty days by trader Master Lovell, who owes this sum to the London company who issued the bill.

Deeply suspicious of this ‘strip of a boy who comes demanding payment of an awk’ard-sized fortune, on no surety‘ – and with London a six-week sail across the ocean, meaning a fraud couldn’t be uncovered before the money falls due – Lovell and his fellow merchants have a make-or-break decision to take. Is the mysterious Richard Smith genuine? A bold-faced crook? Up to political mischief? Or attempting something much darker?

For he’s up to something, everyone agrees. He openly admits to it. Yet despite hints and red herrings nothing will prise the exact truth out of him – not offers of violence, rooftop chases, a duel, a branding, nor the threat of the hangman’s noose. Smith keeps his secret until the final page.

Francis Spufford’s novel is a fine plum pudding of a book, rich with spice and full of silver-sixpence-like surprises. I gobbled it up, swallowing it down (along with envy of an author who can create such a clever game of pass-the-parcel) layer upon layer of story from which the reader must tease-out clues and try to get a feel for the secret lying at its core.

The language is gloriously dense in places. But if it is occasionally purple it is the colour of a Georgian brocade waistcoat, the texture of the cloth opulent under one’s exploring fingers, yet not necessarily giving an accurate clue to the wearer’s true identity. This is arguably necessary, since modern language would struggle to convey the landscape of a city where church spires look down on a display of trophy human scalps; where the reality of a duel is a blundering struggle through deep snow, with spurting blood and unexpected consequences; where one of the great cities of the world is in the bold process of creating itself.

Then there are Spufford’s wonderful characters: the feline Tabitha, who hates novels yet quotes Shakespeare; the voluptuous Mrs Tomlinson, who makes Smith a generous offer he cannot, for politeness, refuse; the intriguing Achilles, ‘a tall African of about Smith’s age, wearing livery, with long limbs and a tight knob of a head like the bole of a dark tree’  who has, for a slave, a complex relationship with Septimus Oakeshott, the Governor’s young aide. My heart still breaks over Septimus.

Historical novels don’t all have to be bodice-rippers. They can be Wolf Hall. They can be Golden Hill. I was going insane trying to work out what was at the bottom of it all – now I’m mad to find out whether there might possibly be a sequel.

 

Competitions to enter in July

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David Llewelyn, Doris Gooderson Short Story Competition, H G Wells Short Story Competition, HISSAC, Norwich Writers' Olga Sinclair Competition, PENfro Book Festival, Rachel Hore, Sterts Theatre, To Hull & Back Competition

Lots of entries to get in the post before you pack that bag for the holidays…

The To Hull & Back Competition for humorous short stories of up to 4,000 words (including the title) closes on 31 July, with a top prize this year of a whacking £1,000, second prize of £150 and third prize of £75. The winner and shortlisted entries will be published in an anthology which will also include writers’ profiles. In addition to this, the winning author’s face will feature on the front cover of the anthology which will be filmed for a video being ‘biked’ to Hull. Fame indeed. Entry fee is £7. Check the details on http://www.christopherfielden.com

Norwich Writers’ Olga Sinclair Open Short Story Competition closes on 17 July (for postal entries) and  31 July (for online entries). The theme for this year’s competition is ‘shoes’, in honour of the shoe industry, which has played such a central role in the history of Norwich. Entries should be no longer than 2000 words. First prize is £400 plus a £100 voucher for Van-Dal shoes; second prize is £175, plus a £75 shoe voucher; third prize is £50, plus a £50 shoe voucher. The Adjudicator will be local author Rachel Hore. Entry fee is £8. Details from: https://norwichwriters.wordpress.com/competitions/open-competition/

Cinnamon Press Debut Novel/Novella Competition asks for the first 10,000 words of a debut work, with an entry fee of £12. The prize is £500, plus a publishing contract. Deadline 31 July. Details: http://www.cinnamonpress.com

HISSAC Short Story and Flash Competitions. Story: 2,500 words. Flash: 500 words. Entry fees: story £6, or three for £15. Flash: £3, or three for £7. Prizes: story £400; £50, £50; flash £150.  Deadline 31 July. Details http://www.hissac.co.uk

The theme for the H. G Wells Short Story Competition is SPACE, ‘in its broadest interpretation’.  Entry is free to those under 21 years of age, with a prize of £1,000 – while for authors of 22 years of age and over there is an entry fee of £10, with a prize of £250. Free publication in a quality, professionally published paperback and Kindle version (by St Ursin Press) is offered to all shortlisted entries. 1,500-5,000 words. Deadline: 17 July. Details from http://hgwellscompetition.com/

Sterts Theatre One Act Playwriting Competition for a 30-minute play for no more than four actors. Fee: £7. Prizes: £100 plus performance; runners up get £40 and a rehearsed reading. Best play on a Cornish theme gets £40. Deadline 31 July. Details: http://www.sterts.co.uk

Doris Gooderson Short Story Competition. 1,200 words on an open theme. Entry fee: £4. Prizes: £200, £100 and £50. Deadline: 11 July. Details from: wrekinwriters.wordpress.com.

Last, but by no means least – as part of the PENfro Book Festival there are two competitions, one for novelists and one for poets. The Festival takes place 9-11 September, when the winners will be announced. The First Chapter Competition offers the winner full feedback of their entry by literary consultant and talent scount David Llewelyn who will help the novel to reach publishable standard. Second and third prize winners will gain a review of their first chapter, synopsis and cover letter, and ten shortlisted finalists will be offered a face-to-face or email consultation. Submissions must be works of fiction for adults, including teens, but fantasy, sci-fi and novels for children will not be accepted. The competition is open to writers who have never had a novel broadcast or published in print or online and entries should not be currently under consideration for publication or as an entry in any other competition. Send first chapter (maximum 3,000 words) by 15 July. Entry fee is £10. The Poetry Competition invites entries of original poems of up to 40 lines on any theme, with prizes of £300, £125 and £76. Entry fee is £4. Details from: http://penfrobookfestival.org.uk/competitions

Do please double-check all details.

 

 

Are we there yet? (A Twitter competition)

To celebrate the launch of the ninevoices Twitter account (@ninevoiceswrit1) we thought we’d have a little competition. Please submit your 140 character story on the subject of ‘Are we there yet?’  in response to this blog post by 20th July and we will tweet the three best. Follow us on Twitter and/or Facebook (Ninevoices) and we’ll follow you back!

‘Horribly good’ heroines?

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Agents, Elizabeth Bennet, Fanny Price, goodness, heroines, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, Mary Crawford, moral fiction, Saki, The Story-Teller

A man in a railway carriage, driven to desperation by noisy small children around him being unsuccessfully entertained by their unimaginative and strait-laced aunt, shuts them up  with a story about a little girl called Bertha.

‘Was she pretty?’ asked the bigger of the small girls.

‘Not as pretty as any of you,’ said the bachelor, ‘but she was horribly good.’

There was a wave of reaction in favour of the story; the word horrible in connection with goodness was a novelty that commended itself. It seemed to introduce a ring of truth that was absent from the aunt’s tales of infant life. (from Saki’s The Story-Teller)

It looks as if adults don’t like heroines who are ‘good’ any more than children do. In modern fiction it’s difficult to think of more than a handful of heroines we might describe using the word. Is this because we no longer look to fiction for moral guidance or inspiration in the way that people once did?

This might help explain why Fanny Price is Jane Austen’s least popular heroine; she hasn’t aged well. Patience and gentleness and a faithful loving heart combined with strong principles were enough in a heroine at the time Jane Austen was writing Mansfield Park, but modern readers often find Fanny’s passivity spineless and her virtue irritating. They prefer the amusing and witty Mary Crawford, who takes active steps to get what she wants.

It may be that readers often dislike Fanny because she comes across as naturally good – and therefore difficult to identify with. There might even be a sense in which she shows us up, and we don’t like that either. She doesn’t make mistakes about people or find herself initially attracted to a dodgy man, like Elizabeth Bennet does. Elizabeth is morally upright, but she combines virtue with a sense of fun, dawning self-knowledge and awareness of her own errors of judgment; it’s not surprising that many people say she’s their favourite Jane Austen heroine.

I can’t think of a Fanny type heroine in modern fiction – and if a new author tried having one in a novel, agents would probably advise making them less wet. So is it that we don’t want heroines to be any more ‘good’ than we know ourselves to be?

Or can modern writers get away with a ‘good’ heroine if enough of their moral vacillation is shown? Maybe this is the problem with Fanny. Secret suffering and standing up for principles in silence: what’s the interest in that? But if a heroine is seen to struggle with moral choices, between right and wrong and the muddle between them, and then act on her decisions, her goodness is not the passive quality that we are warned to avoid when writing a novel.

 

 

 

 

Adverb Writing Challenge

Tags

Adverb Writing Competition, Christopher Fielding, To Hull & Back

Do you have a sneaking weakness for those naughty adverbs? If so, Christopher Fielden – creator of the slightly mad but entirely fun To Hull & Back humorous short story competition – is running an Adverb Writing Challenge.

Entry is FREE and the brief is to write a story of up to 100 words ‘crammed with as many adverbs as you can’. A guilty treat maybe! All stories will be published on his website, on a dedicated page if he receives 20, but if he gets a hundred entries he promises to publish them in an anthology. There is no deadline since, if he receives a flood of entries, he’ll start again with the next hundred stories.

Find out more at (deep breath): http://www.christopherfielden.com/short-stories/merobot-bymike-scott-thomson.php#AdverbChallenge. Christopher’s site, http://www.christopherfielden.com  also gives details of this year’s To Hull & Back competition – with its whacking first prize of £1,000.

Why not let rip with that purple prose – knowing Chris, the more purple the better.

 

Heart v Head

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EU referendum, Head, Heart, Jane Austen, Leave, Remain, Shakespeare

I’ve heard someone answer, when asked about the EU referendum, that their heart says Leave but their head says Remain. Heart v Head? That’s the theme of so many stories. A whole sub-genre of romantic novels, perhaps. Which are your favourites?

I first thought that Persuasion was in this category, but I’m not so sure now. When we get to the end we see that Heart wins, but by then we so much approve of Captain Wentworth that we would put Anne marrying him in the Head category too. Hmm.

In the typical Heart v Head story the presumption is that heart is in fact right.   Of course Jessica should elope with Lorenzo – they are young and attractive and in love. The practical and social downsides of this are simply discounted, or not even considered.

Can you think of a story where Head wins?

Thought not. As a writer, would you compose a story-line in which Head wins over Heart? Would such a novel work? Would people buy it?

(And how does that help decide over the EU …….. ?)

Spooky Stories Wanted

Tags

Cold Iron, Ghost Stories, Iron Press

Daunted by all those prestigious competitions? Then here’s one just for you.

A forthcoming anthology by Iron Press, COLD IRON, is seeking submissions from writers from the UK and Ireland of up to two previously unpublished ghost stories between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Closing date is September 30th.
Entries must be submitted by post only. Writers of accepted stories will be paid £50 and receive a free copy of the anthology. There is no entry fee.

Submissions should be traditional – that is, not wider paranormal tales – and Iron Press subscribe to M R James’s view that ghost stories work best ‘set close to the readers’ own time’.

Details: ‘Cold Iron’, Iron Press, 5 Marden Terrace, Cullercoats, North Shields NE30 4PD
Website: http://www.ironpress.co.uk

DO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS…

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Feedback on posts, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, The Gruffalo, Tolstoy, War and Peace

There is a ‘Leave a Comment‘ tab at the top right of these posts for any random – or profound – thoughts you may have on what we’ve written. This isn’t just meant for ninevoices, but for the whole wide world out there.

Please don’t be shy – we’d love to know what you think.

We can manage this…

I came across the following quote from the poet, novelist and critic Randall Jarrell:

…a novel is a prose narrative of some length that has something wrong with it…

(From The Unread Book, which I can’t find a link to anywhere.)

I found this strangely encouraging.   I suppose the trick is to make sure it has exactly the right thing wrong with it…