Part 18 (1/2)

Archie had started his job in the City He said he liked it and seehted to be out of the Air Force, which, he continued to repeat, was absolutely no good for the future He was determined to make a lot of money The fact that ere at the moment hard up did not worry us Occasionally Archie and I went to the Palais de Danse at Hammersmith, but on the whole we did without amusements, since we really couldn't afford the couple, but ere happy Life seemed well set ahead of us We had no piano, which was a pitybut Ithe piano madly whenever I was at Ashfield

I had married the man I loved, we had a child, we had somewhere to live, and as far as I could see there was no reason e shouldn't live happily ever after

One day I got a letter I opened it quite casually and read it without at first taking it in It was from John Lane, The Bodley Head, and it asked if I would call at their office in connection with the manuscript I had submitted entitled The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Mysterious Affair at Styles

To tell the truth, I had forgotten all about The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Mysterious Affair at Styles By this time it must have been with The Bodley Head for nearly two years, but in the exciteether such things as writing and hts By this time it must have been with The Bodley Head for nearly two years, but in the exciteether such things as writing and hts

I went off to keep the appointment, full of hope After all they must like it a bit or they wouldn't have asked me to coreetsomehow rather Elizabethan All round hiainst tablesall with the appearance of old ht afterwards that he himself would look quite well in one of those fran, kindly ht to have warned me, perhaps, that he was the kind of ently to take a chair I looked roundit was quite impossible: every chair was covered with a picture He suddenly saw this and laughed 'Dear me,' he said, 'there isn't rian to talk to ht it showed proht be es The last chapter, for instance; I had written it as a court scene, but it was quite impossible written like that It was in no way like a court sceneit would beabout the denouement in another way? Either soh that would be difficult, or I e it in soe so I would think about itperhaps have a different setting Anyway, I would try He made various other points, none of them really serious apart from the final chapter be es The last chapter, for instance; I had written it as a court scene, but it was quite impossible written like that It was in no way like a court sceneit would beabout the denouement in another way? Either soh that would be difficult, or I e it in soe so I would think about itperhaps have a different setting Anyway, I would try He made various other points, none of them really serious apart from the final chapter

Then he went on to the business aspect, pointing out what a risk a publisher took if he published a novel by a new and unknoriter, and how little money he was likely to reen

I was in no frareements or even think about theiven up hope for so published, except the occasional short story or poeht toThis particular contract entailedany royalties until after the first 2000 copies had been soldafter that a shts would go to the publisher None of it meant much to methe whole point was, the book would be published the book would be published

I didn't even notice that there was a clause binding htly increased rate of royalty To ned with enthusiasm Then I took the MS away to deal with the anoed that quite easily

And so it was that I started on oing to be a long career In spite of the clause about the next five novels, this was to le and isolated experiment I had been dared to write a detective story; I had written a detective story; it had been accepted, and was going to appear in print There, as far as I was concerned, the e writing any more books, I think if I had been asked I would have said that I would probably write stories fro of the professional aboutwas fun

I went home, jubilant, and told Archie, and ent to the Palais de Danse at Haht to celebrate

There was a third party with us, though I did not know it Hercule Poirot,round my neck, firmly attached there like the old man of the sea

V

After I had dealt satisfactorily with the last chapter of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, I returned it to John Lane, then, once I had answered a few reed to a few round, and life went on as it would with any other young married couple who are happy, in love with each other, rather badly off, but not too much hampered by the fact Our ti to the country by train and walking somewhere Sometimes we made a round trip of it I returned it to John Lane, then, once I had answered a few reed to a few round, and life went on as it would with any other young married couple who are happy, in love with each other, rather badly off, but not too much hampered by the fact Our ti to the country by train and walking somewhere Sometimes we made a round trip of it

The only serious blow that befell us was that I lostworried and unhappy, and finally she came to me rather sadly one day and said, 'I'athaI mean, Ma'am, and I don't knohat Mrs Roould think of et married'

'Married, Lucy? Who to?'

'Soot htenment from my mother As soon as I told her, she exclaiain, is it?' It appeared that my mother had not much approved of 'that Jack' He'd been an unsatisfactory suitor of Lucy's, and it had been decided by her fa when the couple quarrelled and parted coain now Lucy had been faithful to the unsatisfactory Jack and there it was: she was going to get married and we should have to look for anotherwas even more impossible No maids were to be found anywhere However, at last, whether through an agency or a friendI can't rehly desirable She had excellent references, a round pink face, a nice sh she was quite prepared to like us The only trouble was she was highly averse to going anywhere where there was a child and a nurse I felt that she had to be prevailed upon She had been with people in the Flying Corps, and when she heard thatCorps too she obviously softened towards me She said that she expected my husband knew her own employer, Squadron-Leader G I rushed home and said to Archie, 'Did you ever know a Squadron-Leader G?'

'Not that I can remember,' said Archie

'Well, you must remember,' I said 'You must say that you ca like thatwe've got to have Rose She's wonderful, she really is If you knew the awful creatures I have seen'

So in due course Rose came to look upon us with favour She was introduced to Archie, who said sos about Squadron-Leader G, and was finally prevailed upon to accept the position

'But I don't like nurses,' she said warningly 'Don't really mind childrenbut nurses, they always make trouble'

'Oh I'm sure,' I said, 'that Nurse Swannell won't ht that all would be well The only person Jessie Swannell would make trouble for would be me, and that I could stand by now As it happened, Rose and Jessie got along well together Jessie told her all about her life in Nigeria, and the joy it had been to have endless niggers under her control, and Rose told her all that she had suffered in her various situations 'Starved, I was, sometimes,' said Rose to ave me for breakfast?'

I said that I didn't know

'Kippers,' said Rose gloo but tea and a kipper, and toast and butter and ja away'

There was no sign of Rose wasting away noas pleasantly plump However, I made sure that e had kippers for breakfast two kippers were always pressed upon Rose, or even three, and that eggs and bacon were served to her in lavish quantities She was, I think, happy with us and fond of Rosalind

My grandmother died soon after Rosalind's birth She had been ot a bad attack of bronchitis, and her heart was not strong enough to recover from it She was ninety-two, still able to enjoy life, not too deaf, though very blind by this time Her income, like my mother's, had been reduced by the Chaflin failure in New York, but Mr Bailey's advice had saved her fro all of it This now came to my mother It was not much by this tih the war, but it gave her 3400 a year, which, with her allowance fros possible for her Of course everything got far more expensive in the years after the war Still, she was able to keep on Ashfield It made me rather unhappy not to be able to contribute my small income towards the upkeep of Ashfield, as my sister did But it was really impossible in our casewe needed every penny we had to live on

One day, when I was speaking in a worried voice about the difficulties of keeping up Ashfield, Archie said (very sensibly): 'You know, really it would be much better for your mother to sell it and live elsewhere'

'Sell Ashfield!' I spoke in a voice of horror

'I can't see what good it is to you You can't go there very often'

'I couldn't bear bear to sell Ashfield, I love it It'sit'sit ' to sell Ashfield, I love it It'sit'sit '

'Then why don't you try and do so about it?' said Archie 'What do youdo so about it?' about it?'

'Well, you could write another book'

I looked at hiht write another book one of these days, but it wouldn't do ood to Ashfield, would it?' write another book one of these days, but it wouldn't do ht make a lot of money,' said Archie

I didn't think that was likely The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Mysterious Affair at Styles had sold close on 2000 copies, which was not bad at that tiht re sum of 25and this not for the royalties on the book, but frohts, which had been sold, rather unexpectedly, to had sold close on 2000 copies, which was not bad at that tiht re sum of 25and this not for the royalties on the book, but frohts, which had been sold, rather unexpectedly, to The Weekly Tie, said John Lane It was a good thing for a young author to have a serial accepted by for 50 Very good forauthor to have a serial accepted by The Weekly Tiht be, but 25 as the total incoe me to feel that I was likely to earn ht be, but 25 as the total incoe me to feel that I was likely to earn ood enough to take, and the publisher has made some some money by it, which I presuet a bit reed I was full of ad another book Supposing I didwhat should it be about? money by it, which I presuet a bit reed I was full of ad another book Supposing I didwhat should it be about?

The question was solved fortea in an ABC Two people were talking at a table nearby, discussing so name I went aith the naood beginning to a storya name overheard at a tea shopan unusual name, so that whoever heard it remembered it A name like Jane Fishor perhaps Jane Finn would be even better I settled for Jane Finnand started writing straight away I called it The Joyful Venture The Joyful Venture firstthen firstthen The Young Adventurers The Young Adventurersand finally it became The Secret Adversary The Secret Adversary

Archie had been quite right to settle in a job before he resigned fro people were desperate They had co s or offering soht One felt so sorry for thes, just to cheer them up They had been lieutenants, naval and military, and now they were reduced to this Sometimes they even wrote poems and tried to sell theirl who had been in the ATS or the VAD and a young man who had been in the ar for a job, and then they would meet each otherperhaps they would already have ht, they would be involved inyes, espionage: this would be a spy book, a thriller, not a detective story I liked the ideait was a change after the detective work involved in The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Mysterious Affair at Styles So I started writing, in a sketchy kind of way It was fun, on the whole, and much easier to write than a detective story, as thrillers always are

When I had finished it, which was not for some time, I took it to John Lane, who didn't like it much: it was not the same type as my first bookit would not sell nearly so well In fact they were undecided whether to publish it or not However, in the end they decided to do so I did not have to es in this one

As far as I remember it sold quite well I ain I sold the serial rights to The Weekly Tiot 50 doled out toenough to rand as a profession and this tithough not encouraging enough to rand as a profession

My third book was Murder on the Links Murder on the Links This, I think,after a This, I think,after a cause celebre cause celebre which occurred in France I can't remember the name of any of the participants by now It was some tale of masked men who had broken into a house, killed the owner, tied up and gagged the wifethe mother-in-law had also died, but only apparently because she had choked on her false teeth Anyway, the wife's story was disproved, and there was a suggestion that it was the ho had killed her husband, and that she had never been tied up at all, or only by an accoood plot on which to weavewith the wife's life after she had been acquitted of thebeen the heroine of a o I set it in France, this time which occurred in France I can't remember the name of any of the participants by now It was some tale of masked men who had broken into a house, killed the owner, tied up and gagged the wifethe mother-in-law had also died, but only apparently because she had choked on her false teeth Anyway, the wife's story was disproved, and there was a suggestion that it was the ho had killed her husband, and that she had never been tied up at all, or only by an accoood plot on which to weavewith the wife's life after she had been acquitted of thebeen the heroine of a o I set it in France, this time

Hercule Poirot had been quite a success in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, so it was suggested that I should continue to eraested that I should continue to eraot in touch with ested that I should write a series of Poirot stories for He got in touch with ested that I should write a series of Poirot stories for The Sketch The Sketch This exciteda success To be in This exciteda success To be in The Sketch The Sketchwonderful! He also had a fancy drawing made of Hercule Poirot which was not unlike h he was depicted as a little sed hiraht before long, and at first it was thought that that would be enough, but in the end it was decided to increase them to twelve, and I had to write another four rather more hastily than I wanted

It had escaped my notice that not only was I now tied to the detective story, I was also tied to two people: Hercule Poirot and his Watson, Captain Hastings I quite enjoyed Captain Hastings He was a stereotyped creation, but he and Poirot representedin the Sherlock Hole assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector jappand I now added a 'human foxhound', Inspector Giraud, of the French police Giraud despises Poirot as being old and passe passe

Now I sahat a terriblewith Hercule Poirot so old oldI ought to have abandoned hiain with soer Murder on the Links Murder on the Links was slightly less in the Sherlock Holhtly less in the Sherlock Holmes tradition, and was influenced, I think, by The Mystery of the Yellow Rooh-flown, fanciful type of writing When one starts writing, one is much influenced by the last person one has read or enjoyed It had rather that high-flown, fanciful type of writing When one starts writing, one is much influenced by the last person one has read or enjoyed