Come and chat to the phenomenal SARAH WATERS, Booker-nominated author of The Paying Guests, The Night Watch and Fingersmith (among others) on Tuesday 29 September, 9-10pm

[TillyMumsnetBookClub]

August's author, Sarah Waters, is simply incomparable. She is a writer who can deliver pulse-racing, page-turning blockbusters that also become contenders for the Man Booker Prize. Her historical accuracy and mastery of atmosphere places her reader directly in the scene, whether it be a Victorian asylum or a London bomb shelter.

Her new novel, The Paying Guests, conjures a shifting, uneasy post-WWI London, where men and servants are thin on the ground, and attitudes to class and gender are in a state of flux. Impoverished aristocrat Frances and her widowed mother are forced to take in lodgers to pay the bills in their crumbling Camberwell mansion. But when the young married couple arrive, a simmering tension begins to brew between Frances, Mrs Barber and her husband, pulling everyone towards a passionate and devastating crime.

As previous Mumsnet guest Rachel Joyce put it, the story is "so evocative and compelling that all the time I was reading, I had a feeling it was me who had done something terrible, instead of her characters".
Many Mumsnetters have already given their approval: "One of her best yet. Very Waters-ish…I was completely utterly gripped." (FrancesHB).

Virago have 50 copies of The Paying Guests to give to Mumsnetters: to claim your copy please fill in your details on the book of the month page. We’ll post on the thread when all the copies have gone. If you’re not lucky enough to bag one of those, you can always get a Kindle version here or paperback here.

We are delighted that Sarah will be joining us on Tuesday 29 September, 9-10pm to discuss The Paying Guests, her many award-winning novels and her writing career. Please feel free to discuss the book here throughout the month and then come and meet Sarah on the night, and ask her a question or simply tell her what you thought of the book. Look forward to seeing you on the 29th…

Sarah, I think that you are most probably best known for Tipping The Velvet. When you wrote that book, did you at any time think that it might be adapted for television and how much input did you have into that production? I think that The Paying Guests would also make marvellous TV, or even a film. Is there any possibility that this might be the case?

Evening everyone

Firstly, thank you to all those who have written their reviews and thoughts so far - it seems a long while since this thread launched in July and wonderful to see so many posts over the summer.

I'm immensely excited, thrilled and honoured to welcome Sarah Waters, author of (among others) Fingersmith, The Night Watch, Tipping the Velvet and The Paying Guests to Bookclub this evening. Sarah's novels are deeply satisfying, enjoyable, intelligent and immaculately plotted. While each book is highly distinctive in its period setting, all share the seemingly effortless confidence and perceptiveness that defines Sarah's writing. I am delighted that we have the opportunity to talk about them all with Sarah over the next hour.

Sarah, thank you very, very much indeed for giving us your time tonight, especially as this is the second time you have joined us on Bookclub. And congratulations on the huge success of The Paying Guests and on all your many awards and prize nominations for all your terrific books.

We've already got a fair few questions to get through so I'll just add the standard Mumsnet ones that we like to ask all our authors...

What childhood book most inspired you?

What would be the first piece of advice you would give to anyone attempting to write fiction?

What is the best book you have given anyone recently?

And the best you've received?

Over to you...

Hello! Great to be here. Just a sec...

@TillyMumsnetBookClub

Evening everyone

Firstly, thank you to all those who have written their reviews and thoughts so far - it seems a long while since this thread launched in July and wonderful to see so many posts over the summer.

I'm immensely excited, thrilled and honoured to welcome Sarah Waters, author of (among others) Fingersmith, The Night Watch, Tipping the Velvet and The Paying Guests to Bookclub this evening. Sarah's novels are deeply satisfying, enjoyable, intelligent and immaculately plotted. While each book is highly distinctive in its period setting, all share the seemingly effortless confidence and perceptiveness that defines Sarah's writing. I am delighted that we have the opportunity to talk about them all with Sarah over the next hour.

Sarah, thank you very, very much indeed for giving us your time tonight, especially as this is the second time you have joined us on Bookclub. And congratulations on the huge success of The Paying Guests and on all your many awards and prize nominations for all your terrific books.

We've already got a fair few questions to get through so I'll just add the standard Mumsnet ones that we like to ask all our authors...

What childhood book most inspired you?

What would be the first piece of advice you would give to anyone attempting to write fiction?

What is the best book you have given anyone recently?

And the best you've received?

Over to you...

Right Tilly, to answer your questions:

What childhood book most inspired you?
I read a lot of horror and sci-fi when I was a child, and remember loving John Christopher’s The White Mountains – set in a post-apocalyptic future, with odd remnants of the twentieth-century past still lying around; alien tripods have taken over, and the human race is enslaved. I still have a weakness for post-apocalyptic stories and films – like Cormac McCarthy’s brilliant and terrifying The Road.

What would be the first piece of advice you would give to anyoneattempting to write fiction?
I’d say: read, like mad. Get a sense of out how fiction works or might be made to work. Get an idea of the shape and feel of the story you might want to write – and an idea, too, of the sort of thing you definitely don’t want to write. Every author has to be a reader first.

What was the best book you've given recently?
Miriam Toews’s All My Puny Sorrows. I bought it as a birthday present for one friend, on the recommendation of another. They both raved about it so much that I’m now longing to read it myself.

And the best you've received?
Gaia Vince’s Adventures in the Anthropocene, a clear-sighted but ultimately uplifting book about climate change and the ingenious ways in which various communities around the world are responding to it. I read it because it was a submission for the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, for which I was one of the judges. We made it our winner – and were all extra thrilled to do so because it meant that Gaia became the first ever female recipient of the prize. It’s a great book.

@TillyMumsnetBookClub

Evening everyone

Firstly, thank you to all those who have written their reviews and thoughts so far - it seems a long while since this thread launched in July and wonderful to see so many posts over the summer.

I'm immensely excited, thrilled and honoured to welcome Sarah Waters, author of (among others) Fingersmith, The Night Watch, Tipping the Velvet and The Paying Guests to Bookclub this evening. Sarah's novels are deeply satisfying, enjoyable, intelligent and immaculately plotted. While each book is highly distinctive in its period setting, all share the seemingly effortless confidence and perceptiveness that defines Sarah's writing. I am delighted that we have the opportunity to talk about them all with Sarah over the next hour.

Sarah, thank you very, very much indeed for giving us your time tonight, especially as this is the second time you have joined us on Bookclub. And congratulations on the huge success of The Paying Guests and on all your many awards and prize nominations for all your terrific books.

We've already got a fair few questions to get through so I'll just add the standard Mumsnet ones that we like to ask all our authors...

What childhood book most inspired you?

What would be the first piece of advice you would give to anyone attempting to write fiction?

What is the best book you have given anyone recently?

And the best you've received?

Over to you...

And hello everyone – really looking forward to this chat. Thanks for all your wonderful comments so far. I’m delighted that so many of you have enjoyed The Paying Guests. I hope to be able to answer all your questions. I shall try and answer them in chronological order as they appear here...

A couple of people have asked about research:
I really enjoy researching a novel: it’s a chance to immerse myself in a period and really get to know it – a great luxury for a library nerd like me. For The Paying Guests I read books about the post-war period and the social changes of the 1902s; but more useful, really, were books from the period – novels, plays, diaries, letters, and domestic advice manuals (books with titles like Enquire Inside, and Cookery for Invalids, and Letter Writer for Ladies and Gentlemen, and – my favourite - Every Woman’s Problems Solved Inside). They are great for giving you a sense of social mores, and the language of the day. Also useful for The PGs were newspapers – esp when it came to police procedure and the reporting of murders and trials.

@JimmyGreavesMoustache

I loved The Paying Guests, and indeed all of the Sarah Waters books I've read. I agree withchicky that I'd love to know more about how Ms Waters researches the novels, given the apparent effortlessness of moving from the Victorian to Interwar to WWII periods.

I also really enjoyed the TV adapations of both Tipping the Velvet and The Night Watch, and wonder whether any more adaptations are planned.

Glad you enjoyed the adaptations. There are plans to adapt The PGs for tv quite soon, which is a lovely thought. And there is also a film version of The Little Stranger in the pipeline – to be directed by Lenny Abrahamson, who has just done a cracking job, I hear, on Emma Donoghue’s novel Room. There’s also going to be a Korean-language film based on Fingersmith released soon, directed by Park Chan-Wook. All very exciting!

@woodhill

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I was particularly interested in the social history and how women like Francis seemed to have very limited choices. I did not know much about the "clerk" classes either. Another thing that struck me was how someone such as Francis's mother acted old but she wasn't. Also would our generation put up with some like her mum controlling our every move when we were adults.

It was interesting that Sarah referred to the Pinhole Peepshow novel as I remember reading it in the 80s and the trial scene in this novel reminded me of it in some ways

My question to Sarah Waters is in regard to the character Lillian. You described her family as having sharp features and foxy I think. Does this implicate slyness in Lillian's character and did she as one male character stated need her bum slapping by Leonard or words to that effect. She was an interesting character.

Hello there - glad you enjoyed it! Actually it’s Leonard I describe as a bit foxy. Lilian is foxy in a different way, I hope... When I first started work on the novel I did, in fact, wonder about Lilian’s motivations: I felt she might be toying with Frances a bit. That soon fell away for me, though, and on the whole I think that Lilian is just what she appears: kind, warm, generous and, no, certainly doesn’t need her bum slapped. But I did leave a little bit of room for people to wonder how sincere she is – and some readers (apologies, pbandbacon) have clearly not admired her as much as I do, and have found her a bit calculating. But I like it when my characters are open to different interpretations. That’s like life, isn’t it?

@pbandbacon

I have just finished my free copy, thank-you. I really wanted to read this book and enjoyed it enough to get through it quickly, but it wasn't my favourite Sarah Waters novel. What I did really enjoy was the reality with which life post WW1 was portrayed, the roles women took and the pigeon holes they fought to break out of. Part 2 was all about F&L's relationship, and yet despite its length, I just didn't buy into Lillian's side. As I neared the end of the book, I expected some kind of twist of character which didn't come about. Normally I love when I book doesn't go along with my expectations, but this one left me feeling flat. But that said, I do think the characters' actions were entirely appropriate given the era, and am glad Sarah Waters didn't compromise this for a plot twist.

My question for Sarah Waters is in regard to the expectations that are put upon her when she writes a new novel. Does having so many highly acclaimed novels under her belt make her excited to write more or wary of living up to expectations?

Hello. Well, it's a bit of both, I think. It’s extraordinarily flattering to know that some people have enjoyed my books so much that they are waiting for more; the thought can really lift my spirits when I’ve strayed into a writing swamp or tangle and am feeling a bit fed up. It can feel a bit scary too – but then, I’ve got my own expectations about my writing, and they’re the ones I really want to live up to. I want to make each book absolutely as good as I can. I start, each time, with a vision, and want to bring that vision to life.

@Duckdeamon

Big big fan, just seen this, how exciting! I especially like the final line of "Tipping the Velvet" about applause in the park.

Qs!

When/what is the next book please?

Often the books have cheerier endings than might be expected from the story - especially The Paying Guests. Do you prefer happy(ish) endings?

I understand that you apply a lot of your past research and knowledge in your writing: is it important for a writer to know loads about the relevant era/places/people and attitudes in that time and so on?

I'm glad you like that line; I do too. To answer your first question:
I’ve had such a busy year promoting The PGs that I’m only just getting going on a new one, so it will be a while yet before it’s published, I’m afraid... There’s not much to say about it yet: 1950s, and not gay – that’s about all I can reveal.

2nd: My happy and sad endings have tended to alternate: Tipping: happy; Affinity: grim; Fingersmith: happy; The Night Watch: bleak; The Little Stranger: rather chilling (I hope); The PGs: yes, happier than you might expect. I think from this survey it seems I prefer bleaker endings than happy ones... But I was determined to bring Frances and Lilian together and offer them a future – even if it’s a rather overshadowed one.

3rd: Well, there are lots of ways of writing about the past, and I think it’s fine sometimes to be creative and playful and, if you want to and there's a point to it, to make things up. But yes, personally I like both to get my facts right, and to try, sincerely, to capture the spirit of a period – to get its mood and voice. But we reinvent the past all the time, don’t we? Even ‘proper’ histories are just story-telling, really.

@Corygal

Deep, deeply humble fan here - but not so respectful I can't ask you what I really want to know.

You have cats - how do you stop the adorable little pumpkins jumping on the PC and hassling you for food every 5 min? When you're hacking through a tricky bit?

As you climb the final steps towards the climax of another meganovel, does your special cuddly friend spring onto the keyboard, flip onto its back with legs splayed and demand a belly rub? While the other one, working as a team, bites your leg?

When I'm working (or MNetting) I blank out my fat pet, tabby Mr Cory. But he hates it and I feel bad. Also, that fluffy tum is tempting. So what I really want to know is, how do you manage the stressful twin careers of top novelist and concerned pet parent?

Ha! My cat, Atkins, is aloof, and rather low-maintenance. But I find it very restful, esp during a challenging writing phase, to wander in and gaze at her, curled up in a nest of bedclothes without a care in the world. I do that about 50 times a day. It’s inspiring.

Hello Sarah. Firstly, I really enjoyed reading The Paying Guests. I find it quite hard to concentrate for long periods at the moment as my 5mth old is up a lot at night. But I found your book so engaging and absorbing with exactly the right pace that concentration was not an issue! One question from me-the book left me curious to hear the story from the perspectives of the other main characters. Is this something you would ever consider developing?

From where do you draw your inspiration for your books and how did you come to choose this particular time period please?

@whitershadeofpale

Hi Sarah, I'm a huge fan and was lucky enough to see you at the Guardian event earlier this year.

My question is; how do you feel your academic background has influenced your work? And how does it feel when people now analyse your novels in that way?

Hello! My academic background definitely influenced my first novel, Tipping the Velvet, because lots of the book was inspired by the research and thinking I had done for my PhD. Since then, my academic brain has sort of slowly withered away... But I guess I’ve kept some of the rigour, and the writing discipline, that I developed back then. Weirdly, when other people analyse my novels in an academic way I am flattered, but not madly gripped. I sort of think: I’ve put all this time and work into putting the book together. Don’t take it apart, love; just read it and enjoy it...

@Obs2015

Have just started the Paying guests. The Librarian recommended it to me. I hope you find that a compliment.

As a library lover (and ex-library assistant – Camden Libraries, 1990-2000) I most certainly do!

@hackmum

I'm a huge fan too. I'm so much of a fan I'm not even sure I can think of a question to ask, which is unusual for me.

What I particularly loved in The Paying Guests was the way you evoked the period so well - that sense of what it was like to be a woman in that particular place, at that particular time, in that particular social class. I liked things like the details about being supercilious towards returning soldiers begging in the streets - they didn't regard them as heroes the way we do now. It really brought the past alive for me (I think that's true of all your books).

I also enjoyed the ending - it didn't go the way I expected at all and that was rather wonderful.

Lovely. Thank you.

@FrannyMumsnet

One question from me. And one from a friend...

Given that your novels are all set in the past, the closet is a common theme. If you were to set a novel in the present day, which lesbian related themes would you like to address?

Hello.

Well, the weird thing is that because I live as a lesbian in the contemporary world, I find I’m not that interested in writing about it – it’s too close to home. I’m far more excited in thinking about the difference between the present and the past – in exploring the limits and the possibilities in people’s lives in other eras, the radically different way they experienced gender, and sexuality, and family, and domestic life. If I were to include lesbians in a novel set in 2015, I don’t think I’d focus on their sexuality at all – I’d just make it incidental to the story.

What sources did you draw on to make the dialogues in The Paying Guests sound convincing?

I tried to find sources that were relatively close to the immediacy of real speech – things like diaries and letters, and newspaper reports. Oral histories were also useful, and there are some wonderful early recordings of eg soldiers’ voices from WW1. But the fact that the early 1920s is now almost just beyond living memory was very liberating, because it meant, essentially, that no one could come along and tell me I’d got it radically wrong...

Sarah, your writing is divine.

Have a and a .

Really enjoying these questions and responses! And thank you for answering mine

I'm fascinated that you devoured sci-fi as a child - do you think you may swap the past for the future at some point, and write some speculative fiction (as Margaret Atwood calls it)? Do you think you would feel very strange having to predict things to come, having spent so much time deeply immersed in researching the past?

@lozengeoflove

Sarah, you are such a perfect writer. Have read all your novels except the last. I am always sad when I get to the end of your books. I inhibit the worlds you create, totally, and find the atmospheric moods you create as close to perfection as one could get without a time machine. I could not put down any of your books, but have a special place in my heart for 'Fingersmith' and 'Affinity'.

Clearly you are my favourite author. Who is yours?

Thanks so much. It's a real thrill to hear that.

But it’s very hard to choose just one favourite... I’m mad on Rebecca West at the moment, though. I think her prose is just amazing. Lush, yet utterly precise. Who else? Angela Carter, Sylvia Townsend Warner... And Colm Toibin. And Kazuo Ishiguro.

Hi Sarah
Thank you so much for writing such a beautiful book. It's the first of yours I have read, and also I must thank Mumsnet for sending me a copy. I loved your story and the way you write. I found Frances to be a depressing character, but very convincing , I think it would have been interesting to have heard things from Lilians point of view.
My question for you would be do you read whilst you are writing and if so what? Do you have a "guilty pleasure" author that you just read f or enjoyment?
Thank you for coming to talk to us and good luck with y our next work.

I would like to ask Sarah which authors she is currently reading and which book is her "comfort read"?

@SpikeWithoutASoul

Am yet to read The Paying Guests but have loved your previous novels. All of them completely absorbed me and I was sorry to reach the end.

Both The Little Stranger and Affinity left me feeling unsettled for days. They were both so wonderfully, subtly creepy. My question is: do you take more pleasure in moving your reader to tears or scaring them?

Oh, tears and frights both are great. Making people laugh, too. But there is something special about scaring a reader (I say that, perhaps, because I’m such an admirer of good horror films and ghost stories). I did really love writing the spooky scenes in The Little Stranger. I’d like to try my hand at a modern ghost story one day. Maybe the book after next.

@Biscuitsneeded

I loved this book. Having never read a Sarah Waters I didn't know what to expect, but from a seemingly mundane premise emerged a gripping story. I loved the evocation of the period, all the details about the house, the nuancing and importance of social class - and the ending, which wasn't what I would have predicted. My question is: Is there a time period in which you haven't yet set a novel, which you would really like to explore?

Thank you. Actually, what comes to mind is that I have sort of ‘phantom’ novels from periods I’ve already written about – novels I once began to plan but then surrendered when I realised I wanted to move elsewhere. So there’s a 1940s melodrama I had a hankering to write after I finished The Little Stranger (I think some of that went into The PGs), and a rollicking 1920s novel that I always fancied doing as a sort of counterpart to The PGs, but then reluctantly gave up on, feeling I’d had enough of the 20s for a while... I like to think these books exist in a parallel universe somewhere. As for unexplored eras - maybe ancient Britain? It would be a challenge to make it sexy.