Books / Debut Novel
74-year-old sets debut novel in Hotwells and Clifton
Rosemary Chamberlin has a fascination with murder. For years she’s been a fan of whodunits, puzzling plots and the goings-on behind the detective’s office door.
When the 74-year-old stumbled upon the Old Bailey Online website and discovered the mass of information about Victorian murders, she was hooked. Soon she had questions crowding her head: “Why would somebody be murdered? How would they find out about it? What would the dark feelings going on in the background be?”
Before long, she was writing it all down in a book.
is needed now More than ever
Several years later, that novel has become a reality and Murder, Bristol Fashion was published earlier this month on Amazon.
It tells the story of Louisa, a young woman from Clifton determined to solve the murder of her childhood friend, George, on the steps of a Hotwells brothel. Set in 1860s Bristol, just as the Suspension Bridge is about to be opened, the book follows Louisa as she delves into the murky world of 19th-century Hotwells.
The process of researching the book cast light on some dark facts from the Victorian era. “An unpleasant thing to find out was that the age of consent for sex back in 1864 was 12 for girls,” Rosemary says.
“There were some pretty unpleasant dealings with what were then called ‘fresh maids’ – in other words young virgins. People would pay quite a lot of money for a fresh maid.”
She was keen to set the novel in Bristol because of her fascination with the area. “I love the architecture of Clifton. I worked out where my heroine would live long before I worked out the actual plot.
“It was interesting reading about the history of Victorian Bristol and what is still around that was around then.”
The novel takes place just before the opening of Clifton Suspension Bridge (that didn’t end up looking exactly like this) – courtesy of the Rennie Collection
A former education researcher at Exeter University, Rosemary has written a number of academic texts in her time, but this is her first published novel.
It is not, however, her first novel; she completed another one around 30 years ago but it never saw the light of day.
“I tried a couple of agents, but it wasn’t picked up,” she says. “Eventually I realised that it wasn’t very good – so I threw it away.”
Does she ever regret not keeping it?
“Well, it might be interesting to reread it but, no, not really. It was written before computers or even word processors so it was quite bulky.”
The publishing world has changed since then and self-publishing was a realistic option. After trying a few agents and getting complimentary remarks but no offers, Rosemary decided to go it alone. “I thought I could spend years trying to get it published, and I’m not getting any younger.”
She uploaded her manuscript to Amazon, where it is now available for £8.95 in paperback on £3.99 on Kindle. “For everyone who wants a copy, they print one off or upload it,” Rosemary explains.
“It’s not vanity publishing because it doesn’t cost the writer anything. A lot of well-known writers do it, like Harry Bingham” (author of the Fiona Griffiths series).
She does have friends who are not keen to buy the book from Amazon but says the self-publish scheme has been a huge help to her.
The novel became something of a family affair when Rosemary’s granddaughter, Indie Chamberlin-Kidd, an art student, came on board to illustrate the cover. Working with her on the book meant that the pair could see each other more, at a time when in-person meet-ups were limited.
Rosemary has received positive feedback from friends and says she is enjoying the buzz of having a fiction book to her name. A second Louisa book is already halfway through its first draft, and she is keen to detail the next adventure of her murder-solving heroine.
“Well, I think most of us have thought about murder some time during lockdown, haven’t we?” says Rosemary.
Murder, Bristol Fashion is available on Kindle or in paperback.
Main photos courtesy of Rosemary Chamberlin
Read more: What you need right now is an 80s-cop-show murder mystery….
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