Black Like Me
On November 7 1959 John Howard Griffin, a white Texan journalist, checked into a hotel in New Orleans. He had already been taking medication to darken his skin. Now he shaved his head and applied coat after coat of dark stain. When he had finished he looked in the mirror. ‘A fierce, bald, and very […]
Girl in a Green Gown
A few weeks ago I went to the book launch of GIRL IN A GREEN GOWN: THE HISTORY AND MYSTERY OF THE ARNOLFINI PORTRAIT by my friend, Carola Hicks. It was an occasion both unusual and moving: unusual because the Carola could not be there. She died in June 2010 leaving her book almost, but […]
The Most Lovable of Writers
One of the books that I read while on holiday was Trollope’s AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I had read it long ago, but I re-read it with fresh eyes. I first read it as an academic planning a thesis on Trollope and read it this time as a writer. It has its longeurs – discussions of writers long […]
Closing the Bedroom Door
It occurred to me the other day that you know you’ve reached a certain age when you write a sex scene and you’re no longer worried about what your mother will think. No, now you’re worrying about what your children will think. I’m know I’m not the only writer to find it difficult to write […]
What Were They Thinking?
On holiday recently I read Edmund de Waal’s book, THE HARE WITH AMBER EYES, the fascinating story of a collection of netsuke acquired by his family in the nineteenth century. I read it with rapt attention, in particular the account of how the collection survived the second world war. The Ephrussi family were among the […]
A New Friend
One of the best thing about writing crime fiction is meeting other writers. Crime writers are an unusually convivial lot and at conferences I always find myself chatting to interesting people as well as meeting old friends. At Crimefest in May I shared a table at the Gala Dinner with Danish writer, Dorte Jacobsen, and […]
Quick Update
Apologies to anyone who’s been wondering what’s happened to me. I’ve been busy with all sorts of things, including the first draft of a novel and really, I probably ought to be honest with myself and admit that I need to take time off from my blog over the summer. But before I disappear again […]
Lost in a Good Book
Recently I had a few days of feeling under the weather and couldn’t face anything too demanding to read – especially after reading Thomas Mann’s FELIX KRULL: CONFESSIONS OF A CONFIDENCE MAN for my reading group – so turned to some old favourites. For me comfort reading is of two main types: breathless thrillers and […]