Francesca Robbins won the first prize with her historical crime novel Victoriana.
Francesca Robbins (English Literature, 2008) studied Law at Cambridge University and then returned after a long illness to study English Literature. She has worked as a copywriter at a Sunday newspaper, and as an English tutor. Since childhood, Francesca, a disabled writer, has escaped into books to cope with chronic illness, and she is passionate about writing authentic disabled perspectives.
What did you study at Lucy?
English Literature. My Director of Studies, Isobel Maddison, assembled a stellar collection of supervisors for us — Hester Lees-Jeffries, Caroline Gonda, Alison Hennegan, Jan-Melissa Schramm, Jennifer Wallace… the list goes on. To say I found these women inspirational would be an understatement. On some level, everything I studied has been synthesised into my writing. I wrote two dissertations in my third year — one on Dickens and one on Jacobean Revenge tragedy. I like to think of Victoriana as the love-child of these two pieces!
Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes, I have always *secretly* wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl. I wrote my first ‘novel’ at seven (about the Loch Ness Monster — I have always loved a good mystery). But I missed a lot of school and I think the creativity was knocked out of me. I remember randomly sitting next to the novelist Sophie Hannah at a Lucy dinner about ten years ago and being awe-struck — taking the leap from shy admiration to becoming an author myself seemed impossible. Then a few big life events collided about four years ago and I suddenly started writing. The voice of one of the characters, Ruth, just appeared in my head. It became the beginning of Victoriana.
Have you taken any formal qualifications?
I don’t have traditional qualifications in creative writing — an MA for instance. When I reached 10,000 words my husband encouraged me to enter them into the Curtis Brown First Novel Prize in 2019, although at that point nobody else, including him, had read the manuscript. It was long-listed, and the organisers offered me a place on the Curtis Brown Creative course under the brilliant Charlotte Mendelson. It was a revelation! I discovered that although I knew a lot about literary analysis from my degree, and I knew how to write for an audience from my experience as a copywriter, writing a novel is entirely different. It was a bit like being a trained mechanic and realising I didn’t know how to drive a car.
Since then I’ve learned through edits — I won a mentorship scheme at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. I’m still learning, and taking online classes to improve my writing.
What’s Victoriana about in one sentence?
It is a murder mystery set in the Victorian era, told through the eyes of a Scotland Yard Detective, a pioneering Crimean nurse, and the proud, crippled mistress of a mansion built in the last remnant of the ancient wildwood.
What inspired the novel?
Lots of different inspirations collided. In part, the inspiration came from a non-fiction book called ‘The Suspicions of Mr Whicher’ by Kate Summerscale about a brutal murder that happened in a well-to-do household in Victorian England. Although the murder was horrible, amongst the plethora of evidence and family testimonies, what haunted me was the absence of a voice for the sick mother, Mary Ann Kent. She was relegated to the top floor of her own home to die when she became ill, her childrens’ governess replacing her in the marital bed. It was dreadful to me that her voice was lost to history, as almost all female disabled voices are. I was absolutely compelled to reimagine her. The character became Ruth, and both she and the plot evolved well beyond that particularly sad story, but I still think of Mrs Kent and how her voice was erased.
For the rest, it was inspired by my love for ancient woodlands, old houses, and English folklore. The idea for the setting came to me when I was living in Sydenham, southeast London, near the Dulwich Woods. They are one of the few remaining patches of ancient woodland that once stretched to the Channel. They are spooky and feel remote, yet through the trees, you can see London sitting in the Thames basin below. There are abandoned railway tracks and the footprints of long ruined buildings. To me, the woods felt haunted by figures from history who, like myself, found refuge from the city there, from plague victims and outlaws to writers like Evelyn and Byron. My mind went into overdrive imagining a semi-mythical version of the woods — the wildwood — and the looming presence of the fabled Green Man.
How did it feel to win the Bath Novel Award?
Surreal! It is such a prestigious competition, I was just grateful to be shortlisted and wasn’t expecting to win.
What advice would you give other aspiring writers?
I’m still very early in my writing career to be dishing out advice, but here goes.
- Read as much as you are able, in the genre you hope to write in and across genres. Join a book club, or get involved with the writing community on Twitter who are very welcoming and supportive.
- Writing is lonely, so taking writing courses will help you find your tribe. When you find them offer your beta-reading services generously — I learnt so much from helping other writers with their manuscripts. Online writing courses are accessible to everyone and can often be done at your own pace. Writers HQ have excellent ones, and some of them are free.
- Enter competitions with a ‘what have you got to lose?’ mentality. Again, there are lots of free ones, and the pricier ones normally have subsidised or free places for those on low incomes. It gives you something to aim for, and might even give you some much-needed encouragement.
- Most of all, remember it is a marathon, not a sprint. It will get tough, and you will want to give up. Don’t.