AuTHOR’S nOTeS
SEt in a Cornish fishing village during World War I, The Girl With The Silver Clasp – the new novel from Juliet Greenwood – has a strong sense of place and an equally strong cast of female characters. The storyline is equally engaging, focusing on Jess, the harbourmaster’s daughter who dreams of crafting enamel jewellery for a living, Rachel, the landowner’s spinster daughter who is hiding a secret love formed when she was working as a medic on the battlefields, and Giselle, the Hollywood actress who was once the lover of Rachel’s brother-in-law.
While the women have good reason to distrust each other, they must join forces to prevent a munitions factory from being built in the harbour, effectively destroying the pretty village. Along the way, there are opportunities to find love, to right old wrongs and to forge exciting new careers, breaking down gender biases along the way.
“I’ve always been fascinated by World War I and the changes it brought to women’s lives, as well as the breaking down of the old order,” says Juliet. “I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, when women were still largely expected to not live independent lives, let alone have careers, and even a credit card or mortgage was out of the question.
“Like many women of my generation, the struggle to be taken seriously and to have the means, let alone the confidence, to follow your own way has always been very close to my heart.
“I was also drawn to the 1920s, when so many were dealing with the aftermath of the war, particularly, like Rachel in the book, the trauma – that we would now recognise as PtSD – of their experiences. I think part of that is hearing my parents talk about World War II and also my teachers at school, many of whom were refugees from France and Germany and who were dealing with the trauma of their own experiences.
“I didn’t really understand it at the time, but it’s haunted me over the years and finishing writing The Girl With The Silver Clasp during a global pandemic, particularly the images of the doctors and nurses and the careworkers fighting so hard when the first wave of Covid-19 struck, really brought it home. I have a feeling that there will be many now who, like Rachel, will take time to be able to pick up their lives again and who will be changed forever.”
All of Juliet’s five published books are based in Cornwall, although her first two books, Eden’s Garden and We That Are Left, move between Cornwall and north Wales.
FICTION
1. The Leviathan
Rosie Andrews
2. Pandora Susan Stokes-Chapman
3. The Twyford Code Janice Hallett
4. Daughter Of The Moon Goddess Sue Lynn Tan
5. To Paradise
Hanya Yanagihara
6. The Locked Room
Elly Griffiths
7. Love Marriage
Monica Ali
8. A Terrible Kindness Jo Browning Wroe
9. The Man Who Died Twice Richard Osman
10. The Maid
Prose
Nita
over the harbour and save the homes and livelihoods of those who live there. Their brave battle, even in the face of societal expectations that men should have the upper hand, is a highlight of a story that champions the strength and tenacity of women.
“I’ve always been exasperated that female strength and resilience are still overlooked, when it’s so often women picking up the pieces and keeping things together in the worst of times,” says Juliet. “It was something that became clear again during the pandemic, from nurses and care workers to mothers at home trying to keep everyone safe, both physically and emotionally.
“The stories I read as a child saw strength narrowly, as being only in the realms of being able to wield a sword and lead an army. I had a sense that there are many more varieties of strength and it’s something I’ve wanted to explore ever since.
“I loved creating Jess and her passion for her craft – she became such a determined character. I also enjoyed creating the world of the little harbour next to St Ives and the community struggling for survival against the odds.
“Writing the final version of the story during various stages of lockdown, I loved living far away in another world, moving between rural Cornwall of the 1920s and the grand emporiums of London, while all the time willing the good to win over old-fashioned bullying and greed. I hope that is where the story will take my readers too.”
Like many writers, Juliet has been writing stories for all of her life – long before she ever got a book deal. The first publisher to take her on was Welsh women’s press Honno and her career took off from there. Her first published novel, Eden’s Garden, was based on the myth of Blodeuwedd, a story that had haunted her for years.
“I had no idea when I started where that one germ of an idea would take me or just how hard I would have to work – especially after I was given the life-changing opportunity of working with an amazing editor, Janet Thomas from Honno, who pushed me to be the best I could be and never let me get away with anything.
“Creating each of my novels has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done and yet, at the same time, the most exhilarating. By the time I’ve finished the final edits and staggered off to find the nearest chocolate I can lay my hands on, I always swear I’m never putting myself through that again. Of course, within hours, I’m already off on the next idea.”
In this case, her next book will be “something slightly different, which I’m very excited about, but it still has a touch of the big old house, the closeknit family (not always in harmony) and the fight against underhand wickedness. Watch this space!”
■ The Girl With The Silver Clasp is out now, published by Orion