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Steven
Ward
mystery
writer
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Steven
Ward
Like a great many people, I am a
huge fan of novels of the Victorian(ish)
era and thought it would be fun to attempt
write one. Trying to find my own 'voice',
however, was problematic. Conveniently
leaving aside any questions regarding my
writing ability, how could I make my story
different enough to be noticed amongst the
many gifted contemporary novelists working
in the same field (Susanna Clarke,
D.J.Taylor, Michel Faber, David Pirie et
al).
The answer, I decided, was to (try to)
make it funny. Stories of, or set in, the
Victorian period seem to be increasingly
popular but no-one that I can think of has
recently undertaken a spoof of the mystery
story in the way that I have attempted.
Also, in the novel's central character -
Charles Pendergrast - I have tried to
capture some of the delusional self-regard
of Augustus Carp; one of my favourite
literary characters.
My objective, then, has been to write a
comic novel, a spoof of the "English
Victorian Mystery" that caricatures the
language and social mores of the period
and, of course, tells a good story.
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