The Story Behind The Story #1

Closing thoughts on characters.

We’ve just wrapped up the entire novel of The Spider. Thank you for tuning in to read it! It’s been a pleasure to share it with you.

If you have any questions about the story or the characters, drop them in the comments.

Some notes on the characters

Muldoon

My husband warned me repeatedly that Muldoon would be just like Robert Muldoon of Jurassic Park or Mulder from X Files. I didn’t care—I had to have it. I just thought it worked well with this character. You’ll learn more about Muldoon in the other books, but he’s a private investigator, originally set to be from Donegal, Ireland. As Liverpool was the second largest port after London, it was where many people found themselves working and living in the 19th century, so why not Daniel Muldoon, too?

The Bryant family

Liverpool attracted a lot of business, investment and in turn, emerging middle class families. The Bryants were an example of that.

In the 19th century, Liverpool rose to become, after London, the second port of the British Empire and one of the greatest ports in the world. This was primarily due to her role as the main 'western gateway' for the raw materials and finished goods of the industrial revolution, which was then taking place in the mills and factories of Lancashire, Yorkshire and the Midlands. Liverpool's ships, their owners, builders and sailors, became famous throughout the world and played a major part in developing Britain's trading links with North and South America, West Africa, the Middle and Far East and Australia. During this century several million emigrants sailed from Liverpool to the rapidly developing 'New World' countries. Under the management of the Dock Trustees and their successors, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, the port's enclosed dock system grew to span more than seven miles of the Liverpool waterfront. At the end of the century the dock labour force alone numbered nearly thirty thousand and throughout most of this period, Liverpool's four great import trades (cotton, sugar, timber and grain) flourished.

—Museum of Liverpool

For John Bryant, the money comes quicker than ideas on what to do with it. Not long after returning from Australia, he heads off to South Africa on business. It was actually quite common for Victorian businessmen to have to go overseas for a lot of their working years, and if they weren’t overseas, they’d be travelling up and down the country. If they’d had a military career, they would have joined up quite young, and finally been in a position to marry in their thirties (thinking of all the military men in Jane Austen novels,) eventually retiring in their late thirties to start a new venture, if they weren’t promoted, that is!

Frances, like many children of clergymen, is well-educated but hasn’t necessarily had the means and the connections to consider herself truly middle class until now. Like Charlotte Bronte, Frances will have had a good education but wouldn’t have necessarily been considered a good option for marriage. It was an awkward position to be in and many of these sons and daughters of clergymen became tutors or governesses. Her husband has rescued her from that life as he’s found his fortune in Australia. If you could travel, social mobility in the 19th century was possible for some. A working class farmer could work abroad and potentially buy land there, eventually becoming middle class by the time he returned to Britain, if he ever did.

The first part of the 19th century was marked by deep economic distress. A series of bank failures during and after the Napoleonic Wars, combined with no Welfare State, meant that many middle-class families found themselves destitute overnight. Young men from good homes could leave school and go out to work from the age of 15 without being ashamed. There was always a chance that they would earn back their family’s fortune. But their sisters, educated to be ‘ladies’, would have felt humiliated to be seen serving in a shop or working in a factory alongside working-class girls. The only possibility open to them was to get a job as a teacher, either in a small girls’ school or in someone else’s home.

—Kathryn Hughes

This book isn’t historical fiction, but a lot of research went into the background to help aid the characters and how they would have lived their lives in the book. I find that a lot of Victorian fiction focuses on high society—particularly London and the home counties. Liverpool, I felt, would offer something different.

Sarah Jones

It was really interesting to have a governess character in The Spider. You can’t have a 19th century story without a governess! You’ll see at the start of the novel that Sarah starts off as a nanny and then is later referred to as governess when Frances talks to her mother, Beatrice. Frances refers to Sarah as ‘like a sister’ to her, and I felt that this would reflect how new Frances is to her social standing. The governess was often the middle-servant, neither belonging with the other household staff or the family she worked for.

Life was full of social and emotional tensions for the governess since she didn’t quite fit anywhere. She was a surrogate mother who had no children of her own, a family member who was sometimes mistaken for a servant. Was she socially equal or inferior to her employers? If the family had only recently stepped up the social scale, perhaps she’d consider herself superior. She was rarely invited to sit down to dinner with her employers, even if they were kind. The servants disliked the governess because they were expected to be deferential towards her, despite the fact that she had to go out to work, just like them. One governess, known only as SSH, recalled how, sitting down to dinner for the first time in a new job , she was overwhelmed by a ‘sense of friendlessness and isolation’ when she noticed herself pointedly served after the ladies of the house.

-Kathryn Hughes

I wanted Frances to be kind and inexperienced in this regard. Sarah came to her aid when she was a new mother with no friends, and although it was a paid position of employment, they are friends. They have similar backgrounds, both being vicar’s daughters, so it was natural that Frances wouldn’t see herself as superior to Sarah. Sarah calling her ‘ma’am’ is just the done thing, and they are both figuring it out as they go. Sarah Jones, as expected, loves Elsie deeply, and is actually an important character, finding herself caught in the gaze of the monster. I very much wanted Sarah to be a family member—the sister Frances never had. They are a new family unit, and John is happy for Frances to lead the way on the way everything is done. Sarah is therefore an important member of the family.

In the later books, Sarah and Frances will become social equals again. I’ll let you know more about that in book 2!

Police Chief Inspector Andrew Gill

One of my favourite characters is Andrew Gill. A grumpy, middle-aged Police Chief Inspector managing the Main Bridewell of Liverpool, with a mysterious link to Daniel Muldoon. Gill not only runs his station but also manages the prison side of things. The bridewells were also where prisoners were kept on a short-term basis.

Gill was heavily inspired by DCI Gene Hunt (portrayed by Philip Glenister in Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes) but just imagine him with mutton chops and a police helmet. My husband said to me, “I think you just love grumpy men,” and that’s probably true. You’ll see more of Andrew Gill in future books.

DCI Gene Hunt (Left) and DI Alex Drake. Photo courtesy of BBC press office.

The detective duo driving the investigation are well-crafted and genuinely likable, with a synergy that makes their partnership compelling. Their chemistry and wit balance the dark tone of the novel, and their teamwork keeps the plot moving smoothly. They’re a great pairing, and their camaraderie gives the reader a sense of stability amid the story’s supernatural elements.— Lily Langman, A Creative Bone

Ways to help this book find more readers:

• Leave a review on Goodreads.

• Pre-order a copy ahead of its January release.

• Tell your friends about the book!

Thank you to my ARC team for requesting a copy of the book. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing your reviews in the coming weeks.

Other news

I’m excited to announce that my book, Oceanus, will be available as part of a promotion on Smashwords through January 1 as part of their 2024 End of Year Sale! This is a chance to get my book, along with books from many other great authors, at a discount so you can get right to reading.

You will find the promo here starting on December 12, so save the link:
https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/

Please share this promo with friends and family. You can even forward this email to the avid readers in your life!

Thank you for your help and support!

If you’re a paid subscriber, you can download both The Spider and Oceanus ebooks for free here.

What’s next?

I am currently working on book 2, as I hope that there are characters in this story that you’d like to see more of. If you like the mystery, the police procedural and the supernatural twists, do make sure to subscribe for book 2. I can’t wait to get started!

Next week, I invite you to have a cup of coffee with me while I delve into coffee culture in Britain.