Lucy Waverley
Noble Beasts
Newly represented by Sharon Bowers of Folio Literary, New York.
Lucy lives in a part of the English Midlands most people have never heard of with her husband, two daughters and a hairy terrier. Having studied ancient and medieval history at university, she has tried and tested a string of jobs, including barmaid, bookseller, corporate lawyer, and copywriter. She has written a thesis on Anglo-Saxon coins, some riveting shareholders’ agreements, and various magazine articles about Bill Oddie’s binoculars, growing tea in Cornwall, and how to make really good Wellington boots. Noble Beasts is her first novel.
What made you enter the Cheshire novel Prize?
For the feedback and to give myself a hard deadline to finish the novel. I had almost finished the first draft of Noble Beasts when Instagram writing friends mentioned the prize and that there would be feedback for every entrant. Though I still had a lot of work to do, the idea of getting constructive criticism on the first 5,000 words was too tempting to resist.
What did it feel like when you were LL and SL?
For the LL, I was stunned. I’d entered a few competitions before and got nowhere so was fully expecting to get nowhere again. I thought I’d recognised one of the snippets as mine but talked myself out of it (I was wrong – it was mine). Once it had sunk in, it was a huge confidence boost and an overwhelming relief that I hadn’t been writing complete drivel. Making the short list was even more of a surprise and gave me an even bigger boost, plus an enormous kick to get the draft polished.
What was the reaction like from those around you? Family? Friends?
All appropriately pleased and supportive. My family put up admirably with a growing collection of cobwebs, a diet consisting mainly of fishcakes and toast, and frequent bouts of manic plot-explaining while I was frantically editing for the SL deadline. Writing friends were unbelievably awesome too, offering to read, advise and generally keeping me sane.
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
On honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands several years ago, I read about some ruined huts in a remote glen, the walls of which bore faint traces of old frescos of deer. The deer had been painted in the early 19th century by a young artist who used to visit the glen with his lover, who happened to be the wife of his powerful, aristocratic patron. It struck me as romantic, tragic, and full of potential, so I played around with it as the basis of various completely fictional, contemporary plots for years but none of them worked. Then I had a lightbulb moment – why not write a novel about the historical artist and his lover? That was the entrance to the deepest rabbit hole I’ve ever fallen down – the true story of the huts and the paintings was far more interesting, more tragic, and more beautiful than anything I could have imagined.
How long did it take you to write it?
Three years of research and playing with structure, during which I wavered between writing a biography and a novel, then nine months of focussed novel-writing once I’d made the decision to go down that route first. So far.
What’s it about?
The artist Edwin Landseer struggling to complete the Trafalgar Square lions while battling addiction, a broken heart, and the guilt of giving up a child 30 years previously. Timewise, it takes place from the end of the Regency (around 1820) to the middle of the reign of Queen Victoria (late 1860s), and is set in London and the Scottish Highlands, both of which undergo fundamental changes.
What’s your writing routine?
I have to use whatever time is available around other commitments, so a routine is hard. I write a lot before others are awake and after they’ve gone to bed. I don’t sleep much.
What’s next for you?
I’m about to start a part-time Master’s in Literature and Arts with the Continuing Education department at Oxford University. The plan is to sharpen my serious academic research skills while I write a biography of Landseer (the subject of the book I entered for the CNP), so I can berate myself for all the historical inaccuracies I’ve put in the novel.
Have you done any writing courses?
I did the online version of the Faber Academy’s ‘Writing a Novel’ course from October 2022 to May 2023. While training to be a solicitor, I also did a ‘clear English’ writing course. It sounds dull and obvious but was phenomenally useful.
What are your two favourite books and why?
An impossible question: it depends what mood I’m in, and the more I read, the more books I fall in love with. But, at the moment, I’d say: Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, for its combination of beauty, subtlety, power, and pathos; and Jilly Cooper’s Rivals, for the matchless cast of characters (who are as human as they are compelling, and as flawed as they are fabulous), for its page-turning plot, and the boundless sympathy and energy with which Jilly Cooper always writes.
What advice do you have for any aspiring writers?
Take it seriously and don’t let fear of failure stop you trying – admit that you’re writing that you want to be a writer, show people your work, ask for feedback, accept it, and learn from it.
I’m not really one for motivational mantras, but I have a writing mug (actually, a generally ‘getting through life’ mug) that glares at me when I wobble. It has my favourite quote on it, by the Irish writer, Samuel Beckett: “Every tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” It also has Beckett’s face on it, literally glaring out, and he has a glare that is not to be taken lightly.