Exclusive interview with author Jon Beattiey about his historic novel set in Northumbria
Rating: 3 Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
“Like almost everything I write, the inspiration for a story based in Northumberland, the ‘debatable lands’ of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, came from one of my frequent visits to the area where my mother was born and lived whilst a girl,” says Greays Hill author Jon Beattiey.
“It’s an area full of history, romance, intrigue and hard living…just like my storyline.”
Greays Hill has scandal, murder and sex. Beattiey’s vivid descriptions of the harshness of the land draw you into the world of how the locals farmed and made use of sandstone, which became a goldmine for those lucky enough to have it on their property. The characters learn true friendship and what the love of a good woman can do for a man. The dialogue is written in the accent of the characters, which can slow the story down. Readers may need time to get into the rhythm of the dialogue.
Late 18th century border country is a wild moorland between the Scotland and England. Thieves and vagabonds are leaving and people are starting to settle there. Jack Charlton, an independent cattle herder, and his friend Phillips stop at an out-of-the way hostelry during a storm. While there he hears his Aunt Meg, a spinster who owned Greays Hill and a hundred acres of rough farmland, has died. Jack inherits her property. He faces challenges from a cousin and the local community. He needs a wife to help him be accepted. After intrigue, romance, and murder, a secret is revealed.
Beattiey says he needed little book research because he knew the area, geography, terrain, and farming practices from childhood.
“Stone quarry details came from the National Stone Centre in Derbyshire,” she says. “Characterisation comes naturally. A successful writer always watches behaviour and habits to borrow for his or her characters. There was no necessity to look for specific documentation other than checking Ordnance Survey maps for correct place names and distances.”
Many of the early readers of the manuscript had links with the area, and the story evoked nostalgia. “Perhaps the most unexpected was finding the secretary of the publicity company had the same maiden name as my mother, and came from the same area,” says Beattiey. “She’s now an ardent fan.”
Beattiey says he doesn’t have an editor, as he’s a professional copy editor. “I rely on feedback from pre-publication readers and the constant re-reads I do myself. Greays Hill has been edited in house several times. I often suggest to authors that they read their work out loud. This quickly establishes where things are going wrong. Another suggestion is to shelve their writing for a reasonable period before coming back to it fresh. It’s surprising how easy it then becomes to spot mistakes.”
Greays Hill is Beattiey’s eighth book in publication. His first book was the contemporary novel Contour, how a twenty-year old marriage went stale and new relationships formed. The sequel Trig Point traces the life of a teen girl into a young lady. Benchmark concludes the Manor trilogy with a sojourn in southern Ireland. Twelve Girls is a sequence of interwoven short stories based in and around London. Windblow is a controversial romantic tale of genetic sexual attraction. Apple Girl, an early novel about the problems that beset a teenager leaving college, has been drastically revised and will be re-issued next year as Becoming of Age.
Beattiey’s next book, Death of an Escort, releases in the fall. He’s currently writing Borrowed Years, which Beattiey describes as rather Jane Austen-ish. It uses the same period, backdrop and some of the characters from Greays Hill, although it’s not a sequel.
Beattiey lives outside Bedford, on the edge of East Anglia, about 25 miles from Cambridge. He was born in Swansea, South Wales.
Greays Hill by Jon Beattiey • Trade Paperback, 352 pages, Publisher: Matador (December 1, 2012) • Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-1780883328 $13.50
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