Deanna Raybourn has been entertaining historical crime fiction fans with her Lady Julia Grey series since 2007, when she delivered this brilliant first line: "To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor."
Since then I have and joyed and review three of her novels - Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary and Silent on the Moor - and published a very enjoyable interview with this engaging anglophile American.
One of the manifestations of her talents is that she has a wide-ranging appeal. The evidence I offer for that observation is as follows. It was not until I read the third book, which came in its UK edition with a rather feminine pink cover, I had not the slightest inkling that her books were regarded in some parts as romance novels. To me they were simply good mystery novels, characterised by convincing period detail and atmosphere and characters I liked. I enjoyed the novels no less for this discovery.
Deanna Raybourn
Favourite author: It’s painful to choose. Today I say Jane Austen. Ask me tomorrow and you’ll get another answer—maybe Monica Dickens or Gerald Durrell. And by this time next week I might be swooning over Bill Bryson or William Butler Yeats. I’m appallingly fickle.
Favourite book: Rebecca. It has the perfect combination of English country comforts and sinister undertones. There is no more perfectly-drawn villain than Mrs. Danvers. I have loved it since I was fourteen, and it is the one book I always travel with.
Favourite character: Scout Finch. If you grow up in the South, as I did, Scout is Everygirl. There’s something about the lessons she learns that almost—but not entirely—break your heart. I am also quite partial to Elizabeth Bennet, Jo March, Miss Pettigrew, and Amelia Peabody. And I admit to finding Milton’s Satan quite enjoyable.
Best book read in 2011: Wait for Me! by the Duchess of Devonshire. She’s always been my favourite Mitford, and this was a lovely peek into her perspective on her family.
Best crime city: London. On the surface it seems so cheerful and civilized, but underneath there’s a wonderful undercurrent of something repressed that might turn nasty. Most other cities wear their evil up front and it’s far too obvious.
Best film adaptation: Jaws. It’s the only film I have ever seen that was better than the book. (I did go quite swoony over the Ruth Wilson/Toby Stephens version of Jane Eyre as well, but the book still wins.)
Book that gave you the thriller bug: Probably all of the Mary Higgins Clark novels I read as a teenager. I actually don’t read thrillers anymore because I live with a ghost and I’m far too cowardly. I will venture as far as a Gothic tale but no further thanks to a lifelong affection for Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart.
New/Young author to watch: Elizabeth Loupas. She has actually been writing for a bit, but she is new to me. I was lucky enough to read a manuscript of The Second Duchess before it came out and I devoured it. You have to love a woman who bases a novel on a Browning poem.
What do you snack on while writing: I never snack when writing! I type flat-out at the computer and could never manage to stop long enough to eat anything. (And crumbs in the keyboard would make me quite mental.) I did try making a cup of tea because it seemed very authorly, but it always got cold before I got around to drinking it. I am very fond of tea and a Hobnob afterwards.
Who would play you in a film of your life: Let’s be completely mad and say Sandra Bullock.