Author Sarah Pearse talks to us about her latest novel The Retreat and gives us a glimpse at her upcoming project.
Sarah Pearse studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick and worked in Brand PR for a variety of household brands. After moving to Switzerland in her twenties, she spent every spare moment exploring the mountains and the Swiss Alpine town of Crans Montana, the dramatic setting that inspired her novel.
Sarah has always been drawn to the dark and creepy - remote spaces and abandoned places - so when she read an article in a local Swiss magazine about the history of sanatoriums in the area, she knew she’d found the spark of the idea for her debut novel, The Sanatorium. Her short fiction has been published in a wide variety of magazines and has been shortlisted for several prizes.
Sarah's latest book is The Retreat which was published by Bantam Press on 21 July. You can also find The Retreat on our catalogue.
Sarah will be joining us for a live online author event on Saturday 17 September as part of our Autumn Online Book Festival.
I was an extremely keen reader growing up and my heroes were mainly authors! I loved Shirley Hughes, Enid Blyton, Judy Blume, Roald Dahl and J.K Rowling - amongst so many others. The worlds they managed to conjure, in not just my head, but so many other peoples, were something truly magical and those childhood memories still inspire me today. I think the sense of adventure and strong sense of place that suffuse these author’s books have and continue to influence my work.
When I moved to Switzerland from the UK in my early twenties, I was immediately drawn to the nearby mountains, which I found strikingly beautiful but also so raw and wild—particularly in the winter. When the snow starts falling and totally transforms the landscape, you get a real sense of the power of nature and its inherent dangers, and I began thinking that the mountains would be the perfect backdrop for a chilling thriller.
The idea of setting the novel in a converted sanatorium came about when I was on holiday in Crans Montana, an alpine town a few hours from Geneva, and read a fascinating article in a local magazine about the history of tuberculosis sanatoria in the town. The article described how when antibiotics became available in the mid-twentieth century, some sanatoria were converted into hotels. I started thinking about the darker side of this—how would it feel to stay in a hotel that had once been a hospital, a place where people lived and died? I was also drawn to the fact that sanatoriums were often based in remote locations to stop the spread of infection. I realized that this isolated setting could be a great way of putting my characters under pressure.
I explored the town and found a clinic that had once been a sanatorium which provided some great inspiration for the building in the book and its surroundings. The book Une Histoire Culturelle de Crans-Montana by Sylvie Doriot Galofaro provided some great detail on sanatoria and I also liaised with a local photo historian, as well as looking online. The more I researched, the more I became convinced that an old sanatorium would be the perfect creepy, gothic setting for a thriller. I’m fascinated by the idea that an old building holds such a history—not just one story, but many. I became excited by the idea of making the building itself a character within the novel, and that the malevolent energy of the sanatorium might still be lingering despite its conversion into a modern hotel.
I discovered that sanatoria were often designed according to the principles of “functionalism” — the design and decor optimized to stop the spread of infection and help tuberculosis patients recover (so the building itself became a kind of medical instrument). The design of these buildings became so influential that Modernist architects picked up elements of the minimalist design of sanatoria (large windows, balconies to maximize exposure to sunlight, clean, smooth surfaces without clutter, floors and walls clear), so there were fewer places for germs to hide. I began thinking about how this clinical design might be used in the conversion into a hotel and how it would be viewed by a guest (and reader!) especially if some eerie reminders of the building’s clinical past were incorporated.
My research into sanatoria also led me in another interesting direction when I discovered that there were sanatoria in in Europe for people classed as “morally insane.” In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, women were often placed in medical care for spurious reasons by a male guardian, sometimes loosely diagnosed with “Nervenkranke” (those ill in their nerves). Sometimes this was trickery, a guise to take control of an inheritance, or to suppress independent thought and ideas. This gave me the idea to explore this theme within the novel and the present-day echoes where women are still being judged for their emotions and experiences.
In terms of whether I always had a book in me, the answer would be yes and no! I always wanted to be an author as a child but as I got older and life got busier, I wondered whether I would ever find the time! However, once I was on maternity leave and had some spare time when my daughter napped, I started to think it could be possible. I started writing short fiction and had some success with getting them published and shortlisted for competitions which made me start to consider writing a novel. I think confidence is a huge part of the writing experience and I think writing short stories definitely played a part in helping me believe that the book inside me could find its way out!
Incredible! It was the most wonderful, unexpected experience – I had so many magical moments interacting with the RBC team and Reese herself, from first hearing the news and then in the lead up to publication (I will never forget the moment I first found out that it was chosen!) and it was and continues to be life-changing. Being a Reese’s Book Club selection gave the book so much more exposure than it would have had otherwise, particularly as a debut, and this resulted in my book having a much wider platform with many, many, more people reading the book. I have made so many connections as a result of this – from other authors (Reese’s Book Club alumni and more) to readers / bloggers and podcasters and book clubs all over the world. It has been the best possible start to my writing career and one I will always be grateful for.
I think it has now been translated into 31 languages, including English – something I never imagined when I first started writing! This means that I certainly do have multiple copies on my bookshelf. In terms of meeting the demand, my publishers are very accommodating when it comes to schedules and deadlines, so it has worked very well so far!
The Retreat is set in an idyllic wellness retreat has opened on an island off the English coast, promising rest and relaxation—but the island itself, known locally as Reaper’s Rock, has a dark past. Once the playground of a serial killer, it’s rumored to be cursed. A young woman is found dead below the yoga pavilion in what seems to be a tragic fall. But Detective Elin Warner soon learns the victim wasn’t a guest—she wasn’t meant to be on the island at all. The longer Elin stays, the more secrets she uncovers. And when someone else drowns in a diving incident, Elin begins to suspect that there’s nothing accidental about these deaths. But why would someone target the guests at this luxury resort? Elin must find the killer—before the island’s history starts to repeat itself.
There were several inspirations for writing The Retreat – the first, a local connection. Ever since I’ve started writing, I’ve wanted to write a book set where I live, in Torbay in Devon, UK – a place that has nourished and inspired me for as long as I can remember. Having been born and brought up by the sea, it has, and continues to play a huge role in my life and its extremes have always fascinated me. Like the mountains, the sea is a beautiful but also terrifying environment – it can go from calm to rough and swirling within a matter of minutes – something very exciting to explore as an author. Part of the appeal was also that the local landscape is one I know and love - I like setting books in places I know well – I think the tiny details you get when you know somewhere intimately are hugely important in creating authenticity for the reader.
Another thing I find so inspiring about the setting is the number of stories and rumour that swirl around our coastline – myths, curses, hauntings and lots more besides. This rich history was something I mined in writing The Retreat and I’m fascinated by the idea that somewhere so picturesque also has a dark side. One story that leapt out at me was one about a boarding school for unruly boys close to where I live. The more I researched, the more intrigued I was – it seems that there wasn’t much regulation in terms of how the boys were treated and disciplined (something I find both shocking and disturbing). This played on an idea I also explored in The Sanatorium – the frightening idea of the autonomy of the institution – how they can become their own society within a society with their own (often disturbing) rules and regulations.
I have taken this idea to the extreme in The Retreat – with the old school (the setting for the new hotel) built on an island far away from the mainland. In The Retreat, despite the old school being bulldozed, and a new retreat built in its place, the past is still very much bubbling beneath the surface of the glossy new facade, something thrilling to explore as a writer.
In The Retreat, the building of the retreat itself on the island causes controversy and this was directly inspired by issues in our local area. Any new developments tend to be mired in controversy with locals weighing up traditional architecture vs the contemporary / heritage and environmental concern. I thought it would be exciting to explore this by placing a modern development like LUMEN on a fictionalised version of a local island, developed by Elin’s boyfriend, Will and see where the idea took me.
It was mixed! I loved the writing experience itself as my favourite thing to do is write, but I struggled with time management due to the pandemic. Trying to find the time and space to write with two children and with my husband working from home was extremely tricky! I’m hoping the experience will be a little smoother sailing with my third novel!
Only that Elin is back in another dark and creepy case a little further afield. She’s reunited with her brother, Isaac, who we met in The Sanatorium and we finally find out who has been watching her every move…
One thing I would love to do again is spend an extended period out in the mountains – I did this when my eldest daughter was small, and the experience was magical – something I’d definitely want to repeat! One thing I wouldn’t want to do again is scuba diving! I did it when I was at university but found the whole thing quite scary and claustrophobic – I’ll stick to snorkelling in the future!
The strangest reaction I think is when people assume that my (clearly fictional!) character’s feelings opinions are the same as mine and then get very offended by not just your character but you as author, as default!
It took me seven attempts to pass my driving test – there are very reasons for each failure, I promise!
