I'm delighted today to welcome Merryn Allingham to the blog! I read the first book in her Tremayne crime series last year, and the second, Caribbean Evil, is just out.
Well, with a book set
in Venice and another in the Caribbean, I have to ask if you’ve spent time in
these places? Is Malfuego based on somewhere real?
By
now, I know Venice pretty well. Despite the crowds, it’s my favourite Italian
city, and as long as you avoid the central heave, it’s magical. I’ve also
visited the Caribbean several times, Malfuego being a mix of a number of
islands, all sharing the same dreadful history and, in the 1950s, celebrating their
independence. The idea for Caribbean Evil
came out of a casual remark made by a guide on one of our trips. Novels are
born from such snippets!
What drew you to
writing?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve needed to put pen to paper.
As a small child, I wrote poems; at secondary school there were short stories
that I never dared mention – creative writing was definitely not encouraged.
And I kept on writing through the years, but between family, pets and my job as
a lecturer, there was little time to do more than dabble. However when the
pressures eased, I grabbed the chance to do something I’d always promised
myself – to write a novel. I knew I wanted to write popular fiction though I hadn’t a clue where to
start, but since I’d taught 19th century literature for years and
grown up reading Georgette Heyer, it seemed natural to gravitate towards the
Regency period.
I’ll come back to that Regency
theme! But it seems brave to me to write historical fiction set at a period
lots of people can still remember – I quaked when I published a Second World
War standalone! What drew you to the 1950s?
It’s one
of the most fascinating periods you can write about, particularly if you love a
feisty heroine. At the beginning of the decade, Britain was a monochrome world and
five years of fighting had left behind a general feeling of exhaustion. There
was still food rationing and the country was covered in bomb sites. Women, who had
proved their worth during the war—as land girls, working in munitions
factories, driving ambulances to the most horrific scenes—were pushed back into
the kitchen and the nursery. The dead hand of society ensured their lives became
narrow and acutely gender-based. But discontent with the status quo was just
beneath the surface and during the next ten years rebellion brewed. Life was transforming. The Fifties were a cauldron
ready to explode into the Sixties. And I’m old enough to remember them!
The Regency period, where
you’ve also set books, is close to home for me! Which is your favourite?
I’m
going to sit on the fence because I love every period I’ve written on. The
Regency for its sheer elegance, the Victorians for their certainty (on the
surface at least), and their amazing technological and engineering feats—Bazalgette’s
sewers are still working beneath London. The Edwardian period has a special
place in my heart. It’s bathed in permanent sunshine, at least in popular
memory, and becomes even more poignant when you know it will end in the horrors
of the Great War. And then the dreadful years of the Second World War, which
still resonate with us today—witness the language used in fighting the Corona virus.
I’ve set books in all these periods and each time have loved the sense of being
immersed in a wholly different world, of living in different houses, wearing
different clothes, meeting different people and confronting different choices.
You’ve turned to crime
relatively recently – what has brought you to our happy genre? And the obvious
question from a crime fiction perspective is are you related to Marjory
Allingham?
No relation, though
it would be great to claim one! I’ve only gradually inched my way towards crime.
My first six novels were Regency romances, but
though they proved a great apprenticeship, I wanted to broaden my scope into
mainstream women’s fiction. I also wanted to create something a little darker—it
hadn’t escaped me that with each succeeding Regency, the mystery element had
become more pronounced. It was a natural progression then to write suspense but
with an element of romance, and from there, only a small step further to full-blown
crime. But though I have one or more deaths in each book, relationships are
still very important, including a romantic temptation that develops throughout
the Tremayne series.
The first book in this
series beautifully evokes the grandeur and murkiness of Venice. Do you have a
favourite scene in Venetian Vendetta?
The
scenes I like best are those between Nancy and Archie Jago, her husband’s
assistant. We’re early in their relationship here, when there’s a good deal of
conflict and a general sparring between them. I think the passage encapsulates
what infuriates Nancy about Archie, but also lays the ground for changes to
come!
Luisa was waiting her turn to be served,
but looking around expectantly.
‘I bet that’s her,’ Nancy said.
‘Probably. Nice legs. Salvatore has
taste.’
‘You can go now.’ She would have liked to
hit him, but settled for sounding severe.
He saluted, making her feel stupid.
‘Right away, Mrs Tremayne. Sorry… Nancy. I’ll be back at the vegetable market.’
……….
……………….
She
found Archie looking morosely at a pile of aubergines. ‘Can’t stand them,’ he
said. ‘And they’re in everything you eat here.’
‘Never
mind the aubergines, I must tell you what Luisa said.’
‘Do
I need to know?’
‘Yes,
you’re helping me.’ She said it decidedly. The only way to deal with Archie
Jago, she’d realised, was to confront him head on. ‘I’ll tell you as we walk
back.’
It’s a seriously
tantalising triangle between Archie, Nancy and her husband Leo! I’m looking
forward to spending more time with these characters. But do you have hobbies
that help you escape from the writing or that feed into it?
I
very much enjoy going to the theatre, to the cinema and to art exhibitions.
Mooching around galleries, just looking, is a favourite activity, though sadly
not at the moment. Painting and artists come into my books a good deal. Nancy
is a former art student, Leo, her husband, an expert on Renaissance art. I love
all things Italian and I’m learning the language. That’s evidently fed into the
Tremayne series via Venetian Vendetta,
but my ballet exercise classes? So far there have been no ballerinas, but I
guess there’s still time!
Ballet exercise? That’s
impressive! I fear I would lack the co-ordination … And finally, where can
people find you and your books?
All
my titles are available on Amazon as well as through a distributor such as
Ingramspark. My latest novel in the Tremayne Mysteries Series is Caribbean Evil.
Universal link: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B08K4MDGRW
If
you fancy receiving, The Dangerous
Promise FREE (the prequel to the Tremayne series)
do sign up for my newsletter at https://merrynallingham.com/free-book/
or get in touch via
Facebook or Twitter. Facebook: https://www.tinyurl.com/m322ovu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/merrynwrites
It’s so nice to hear
from readers!
My review of Caribbean Evil - well, I was supposed to be reading this carefully for review, but I found myself galloping through it, loving the setting and the characters and letting the plot take me along. Great descriptive language – I can feel the heat of the Caribbean island where Nancy finds herself in company with her husband Leo and his assistant Archie, our companions from A Venetian Vendetta (formerly A Venetian Atonement) which I read a few months ago. The 1950s are delicately evoked with their sensitivities and the sharp contrast between privilege and poverty. Nancy discovers political unrest on the island and is soon drawn in to help a young man determined to reform the very system that is paying Leo for their stay and work. There’s plenty of meat in the plot, and in the difficult relationship between Nancy, Leo and Archie – enough to make me delighted to see there will be a third in the series!
Thank you so much,
Merryn!
