Authors Electric

 A daughter took me to Highclere House recently - a belated birthday present. You might know it as the setting for Downton Abbey. The family no longer live there: it is mostly used for weddings and as a place to stay for the hunting, shooting and racing fraternity (it's not far from Newbury racecourse). Open days are rare, and crowded - although that is carefully controlled in these Covid days. The house, like most stately piles, is impressive. And visitors linger over well-known scenes - this is where Maggie Smith would sit, this is the main bedroom, these are the passages ... you get the idea. I confess I've watched it only once and so was in a minority of one when it came to admiring all the TV references.  And then, the house duly drooled over, there is a second exhibition, in the cellars. An afterthought, if you like, only for those who might be interested. About Lord Cardigan - That Lord Cardigan - the Lord Cardigan who funded Howard Carter and enabled the expeditions th...

A recent newspaper headline caught my eye: ‘TV’s next Downton will be the American novel that inspired it.’ ( The Times , 14 th  May 2020.) Any guesses?  Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) Intrigued, I read on to discover the novel in question is The Custom of the Country by one of my favourite authors, Edith Wharton.  Now, this is a great book, but I would never in a million years have related its theme of unscrupulous social climbing to the golden atmosphere of benign overlordship that suffuses Downton Abbey . (Which isn’t meant as a criticism of  Downton Abbey – I’ve basked in the cosy escapism provided by all 6 series.) Here, in all the plotlines featuring good or bad behaviour, whether among the upper or the servant classes, I can’t remember a single one in which a ruthless, ambitious, hard as nails nobody sets out to topple the ancient social order and succeeds . There are a couple of devious valets, one Irish nationalist chauffeur, some bra...

I am nothing if not modest. In fact, modesty is the greatest amongst my many talents. I lay claim to an average level of proficiency in most physical pursuits, with the exception of gymnastics, ice-skating and throwing a ball, all of which I'm pretty crap at. But I can twirl several martial arts weapons with a worrying degree of almost efficiency. When it comes to tastes in music, I like a bit of everything – the latest tunes on the pop transistor radio station, classical pieces by people in suits, bluegrass by folks with no teeth, heavy rock by hairy ones. Stick a label on it and I've probably got examples in my music collection. I myself can play fairly averagely well on several musical instruments – guitar, piano, trumpet, anything that plucks or blows. Regarding TV, films – I'll watch Downton Abbey , Dr Who , Lillehammer , The Middle , almost anything. Reading – contemporary fiction, classics, crime, thrillers, science fiction, misery lit, I lap it all up. Not a big f...

What will you be doing tomorrow? Will you be tuning in to watch the flotilla sailing up the Thames, throwing a street party with your neighbours, or pulling the duvet over your head and wishing you were in Alicante or Argentina or anywhere else that isn't festooned in red, white and blue? I've been thinking about patriotism and nostalgia a lot recently because my historical trilogy, 'Swallowcliffe Hall', is centred on an English country house at three pivotal moments in British history: 1890, 1914 and 1939. Also because I've leapt on the 'Downton Abbey' bandwagon with alacrity (although the series was published in print way before the TV programme appeared). Part of the reason why the books are selling here and in America, I'm sure, is because people love looking back to an era when life seemed well-ordered and certain, and everyone knew their place. We view country-house life like one big security blanket: a safe little microcosm compared ...

spar First off, I have to say I'm by no means a marketing expert. I'm still not comfortable with Twitter, despite having bought Nicola Morgan's wonderful guide, 'Tweet Right' and read at least the first five pages. And I'm never entirely sure whether my promotional activities are worth the time I've spent on them (apart from one example I'll come to later), because unless there's an instant leap in sales, it's hard to know what's worked and why. But, caveats aside, here's an account of my first hesitant steps into the marketing maelstrom.  Experienced marketers may dismiss my efforts with a lite larff (as Nigel Molesworth sa) but fellow novices may find something of use, or perhaps one idea that will spark off another. Apologies in advance if they seem hopelessly basic. As I mentioned in a previous post, my main and most profitable ploy has been to leapfrog on the back of an existing media phenomenon, Downton Abbey. Be...