Author of spy thrillers and historical mysteries, Rory Clements tells us about the unorthodox way he started reading Great Expectations and why you should use your local library.
Rory Clements is a bestselling author of spy thriller and historical mystery novels. He will be well known to Suffolk readers as the author of the John Shakespeare thrillers set in the Elizabethan era. More recently he has been writing a series of books featuring Tom Wilde set in and around the Second World War. His latest book is Hitler's Secret.
My brother and I (and our father) used to fight over who read the Eagle comic first. Being the youngest and smallest I inevitably came third. I also loved The Famous Five. I suppose the first ‘grown-up’ book I read and adored was The Lord of The Flies. At the age of 11 a teacher offered me a shilling (5p) if I read Great Expectations. I did - and it was the last Dickens book I ever read. There must be a moral there. Maybe one day I’ll try again. I can’t remember when I first wanted to write. It’s always been there. I wrote a play while I should have been studying for my O levels, which did not help my results. I still have countless stories to tell.
I read the biography of the poet and martyr Robert Southwell and became intrigued by the little-known dark side of Elizabeth I’s ‘golden age’. In particular I discovered the fiendish Richard Topcliffe, the Queen’s priest-hunter. I already knew about the many plots against the Queen’s life and how these were foiled time and again by her spy chiefs, Walsingham and Robert Cecil. So what better canvas for a spy series? All I needed was a hero. I wanted someone with modern sensibilities and the obvious name was William Shakespeare. And then I discovered the Bard’s missing older brother, John...and the rest is history (or my story, anyway)
I already knew a lot about the thirties and forties. In many ways those years had a lot in common with the late 16th century - both were times when England (or Britain in the 20th century) stood alone against a continental foe. The research was much quicker for Tom Wilde because I was working as an author by then, whereas while researching the John Shakespeare series I was working full-time as a journalist. I decided to switch periods because I loved the idea of Tom Wilde and the whole Cambridge thing (spies, splitting the atom, Bletchley Park, radar - that was all Cambridge). But I will return to John Shakespeare one day soon. I have a score to settle with Richard Topcliffe.
I read somewhere that you write late at night. Is this still the case? Sadly, yes. I suppose it’s probably not very healthy, but I do love the early hours. If possible I like to get to bed at about 2am, but this can stretch out to 3am or 4am. The latest I have worked is five in the morning. I try to get up at about 10.30, which leaves plenty of daylight hours for work and exercise.
I am going through the edit of the next Tom Wilde novel. It is set in the summer of 1942. Beyond that, I can’t really say. Also researching and planning the book after that. I need to travel to various locations but that will have to wait until the lockdown is lifted.
That’s a very difficult question. I suppose every book must change you in some way, however slight. Books are incredible things - they are time machines that transmit thought from one mind to another. If you read words written 500 years ago you have a direct link to the brain of the long-dead writer.
Please keep on reading - and using your libraries. Not only have they given millions of people great pleasure over the years, but they have improved many lives through self-education. And that includes me.
I am a tennis fanatic. On normal days I play at least three times a week and I watch far too many hours of professional matches. If I were to meet Roger Federer on Centre Court I wouldn’t win a single point - but I promise you I get as much pleasure from the game as he does. I can’t wait for the tennis ban to end!
