Here at The History Press we are big fans of crime fiction and we jumped at the chance to ask one of our authors some questions about the ins and outs of writing historical crime fiction. From social media to writer's block, J. C. Briggs shares the secrets of successful crime fiction writing. Set in London in spring 1849, The Murder of Patience Brooke sees Charles Dickens, the famous author, turns detective. He and Superintendent Jones of Bow Street must find the man who cut the throat of Patience Brooke, assistant matron at Urania Cottage, Dickens’s home for fallen women – a man who sings as he kills.
Why write crime fiction?
I wanted to tell a story that would keep the reader reading to find out the solution to the mystery. Working out the plot is very satisfying, especially when ideas about possible suspects pop up, and when the pieces fit together to bring about the solution. And I was fascinated by motive. What terrible emotions lead to murder? Dickens gives a summary of motives in his essay on capital punishment: rage, revenge, despair, gain, or ‘the removal of an object dangerous to the murderer’s peace’. That made fascinating reading, especially the last. That, I thought, would make a very powerful motive.
Where did the inspiration for The Murder of Patience Brooke come from?
It was the name I thought of first. Patience seemed a good name for the victim, suggestive of modesty and virtue and rather Victorian. It also suggested a quality of stillness which might hide a secret. Brooke came later because I needed a name which could be an alias, the real name also connected with water. The Murder of is just direct and straightforward. As an unknown writer, I thought I’d better get straight to the point.
How important is location (i.e. London) in your book?
It is very important. Dickens gave us our idea of Victorian London. He knew it, especially those terrible, dark areas in which the poor eked out their dreadful lives. He walked and walked, observing every detail. In his novels and journalism, he described the sights, the smells, the people, and he protested against the squalor and the poverty. So, London has to be the setting for the first case for Dickens and Jones, and his fearless knowledge of the place enables him to accompany the Superintendent into some very dark places in pursuit of the murderer.
What is your favourite book? What do you enjoy reading?
Dickens at the moment, of course; his novels, letters and journalism are indispensable if I want to create a recognisable Dickens. Of his novels, I think Great Expectations is my favourite. My favourite modern novel is Pinkerton’s Sister by Peter Rushforth. It is extremely funny with a sparky, spiky heroine, and it is packed with literary references. It took him twenty five years to write and every word counts. It is brilliant.
Do you have a favourite author? Do you have a favourite fictional character?
I would have to say Dickens just now. And of his characters? It is difficult to have a favourite. There are so many, but I’ll plump for Sam Weller.in Pickwick Papers. And, of course, Alice Pinkerton in Pinkerton’s Sister.
How easy/difficult is to write historic crime fiction?
The most difficult thing is selecting from the mass of research. You find all sorts of interesting, unusual, downright bizarre facts which you long to put in, but everything has to be relevant and you have to let go of some things if they don’t weave into the story naturally. You can always set things aside for another book. I’m looking for a way to send Dickens to Jamrach’s Animal Emporium on Ratcliff Highway, a place that would have fascinated him – I bet he went there. However, such a visit must be part of the story. I’ll have to think about that, but I’m very tempted.
Do you agree with David Baldacci that it is your responsibility as the author to write inaccuracies into your fiction, so that potential criminals do not replicate crimes?
My murders are quite ordinary in the sense that a stabbing or a shooting are not difficult to replicate so I don’t think I need to worry my conscience about this.
How do you avoid your characters becoming clichéd (e.g. the femme fatale, the jaded detective)?
I think the choice of Dickens avoids the cliché – I don’t think anyone else has used him as a detective. As far as Sam Jones, the police superintendent, is concerned, he had to be likeable, honest, and relatively uncomplicated because Dickens is the complex character with more shadows to haunt him. Sam is older and Dickens respects and admires him. Sam admires Dickens and becomes very fond of him in a rather fatherly way, but they are equals in their pursuit of justice.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, how do you cope with it?
Sometimes when the plot won’t work or I feel I can’t get hold of Dickens. It’s as if he vanishes .I just go away and do the ironing or something. While I’m doing something else, ideas simmer in the back of my mind and I can usually resolve the problem, but it is a bit alarming because I never quite get over the feeling that I might not be able to work it out and that I’ll be stuck forever in the middle of the latest book.
Have you ever based characters on people you know (e.g. an old enemy as the villain)?
Not consciously, but I’m sure that all writers draw on their living and reading experience to create their characters. Dickens got into trouble twice for basing characters on people he knew. He had to wriggle out of those situations. In the first case, he changed the character of Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield from bad to good because his neighbour, a very small woman, believed that he had based the hunchback Miss Mowcher on her. Leigh Hunt, a friend of Dickens, was distressed to find his likeness in the feckless Skimpole in Bleak House. Dickens tried to assuage his hurt by saying he had based the character on many people he knew or had met. Hunt was not convinced. Perhaps Dickens couldn’t help it. So, if I have, I couldn’t help it either.
How has social media helped you to market your book / you as an author?
Facebook has been particularly useful, especially when kind people share your posts and pictures. I’ve had a good response from lots of old pupils who have commented on the publication of the book and, I hope, have bought it! I do tweet, but not too often and I only have a little following so far.
Finally, what next for Dickens and Jones?
I have two more cases for Dickens and Jones: the second case, A Death at Hungerford Stairs , concerns the disappearance of Scrap, a street boy, with whom Dickens and Jones become acquainted in the first book. When a boy is found dead at Hungerford Stairs, the site of the old blacking factory where Dickens worked as a boy, he and Sam Jones go to investigate, and the death of another young boy sends them after the murderer. The third case Murder by Ghostlight involves the murder of an actor in Dickens’s amateur company, a man whom Dickens loathes. I am working on the fourth case now – I can’t stop!
Thank you, we look forward to the next installment!
J.C. Briggs is the author of The Murder of Patience Brooke. London, spring 1849. Charles Dickens, the famous author, turns detective. He and Superintendent Jones of Bow Street must find the man who cut the throat of Patience Brooke, assistant matron at Urania Cottage, Dickens’s home for fallen women – a man who sings as he kills. Their search takes them into the filthy slums of the Victorian capital where the fog hides grim secrets. When a little girl is found dead and another girl disappears from the Home, Dickens is forced to face deeply buried secrets from his own past in a race against time to prevent another murder.