Crime moves on

 Warning - this post has spoilers for anyone who enjoys the British Library Crime Classics.

Specifically a book titled Scandalize My Name, written by an author called Fiona Sinclair and originally published in 1960. I was attracted to the book by the rather intriguing title and the cover, which suggested the London setting with a statue of Eros, although it appears to be in a park, not in Piccadilly Circus. 

I enjoyed it. Reviewers, and Martin Edwards' Introduction, commented on the large cast, introduced rather confusingly in the first pages, when they are all getting ready to attend a  21st birthday party. Being warned, I read the beginning twice and was much clearer on who was who. Martin suggested this was a characteristic of a debut book, which this was, and that suggestion strikes a chord.  Telling the story can often overwhelm technique when you are starting out. My problem was always trying to cram in material that would have been better as two books. 

The plot of Scandalize My Name centres on the murder of a rather nasty blackmailer and the stories of his victims form potential motives. It was convincing given its time, but it struck me that a number of the motives would not exist, of themselves, if the book was being written now. Bigamy and the illegitimacy of the children of the marriage, unfortunate letters that reveal a homosexual affair, the  disgrace of an up and coming young lawyer if it was known his father had been in prison. The revelation of all of these could still be a cause for scandal now, in the right circumstances, and bigamy is still a crime, but with the easing of divorce laws ending a marriage before starting another is not the immense hurdle, maybe impossibility, that it once was. Homosexuality is no longer a criminal offense. Society in general is less censorious. Crime moves on to match.. 

Reputation is still a consideration and preserving it would still provide ammunition for a blackmailer, but attitudes now are very different from those of 65 years ago and the story would be told in a very different way. If any of those characters in the book were real I guess they might be as surprised by  the changes in attitude over things such as illegitimacy as they would by mobile phones and electric cars.  The glimpse of a very different world with different values and lifestyle is what I find interesting in the British Library classics. Their popularity suggest I am not alone in this. And they are also very good stories.  

Conjunctive adverbs

 More pedantry this week. 

Bet you didn't know what a conjunctive adverb was? And yes - I had to look it up. 

They are adverbs that joint two sentences together - those high falutin words that manage to sound posh and formal when they are used  - however, furthermore, nevertheless ...

'She had moved house to a different city, therefore she could not go to her old friend's birthday party.'

I was told  - by whom and when, I don't remember, but it was a long time ago - that they shouldn't be used in writing fiction. I can understand, as they do sound a bit like something out of a business letter or a legal document. The advice came to mind a few weeks ago when a group of writer friends were discussing blurb writing and I jumped on the use of 'however' as being wrong. It was a reflex action (sorry, Luisa) but having thought about it more deeply, rather than just accepting that it was laid down somewhere in The Rules, I can see the logic. One of those Rules for Writers is that you should avoid using adverbs and adjectives. That's one I happily ignore as I like description and I think it is part of my style. I suppose the answer is moderation. Don't go overboard. But conjunctive adverbs? Can they be ditched? Probably. Two short sentences would do the work of one long one. 

Simplicity works, in vocabulary and expression. I don't believe in dumbing down - and I'm not averse to having to look up an unfamiliar word - it's how you learn. Reading on an e- reader is very good for this as you can look things up without having to go and find the dictionary. I miss the facility when I'm reading a paper book. You've probably heard the suggestion that if someone mispronounces a complex or difficult word it's possibly because they learned it by reading - which is rather wonderful, when you think about it.  

This post began because I jokily used the word 'forthwith' in an e-mail and with its formality was associating it with nevertheless and all its posh cousins. But then I looked it up and of course it is just an ordinary adverb. But still posh.

The posh words have their place, but maybe it is like that old piece of advice I was given so long ago - best not use them in fiction?   

Pedantry

 I admit to being a bit picky about the use, and misuse, of words. I'm not perfect, far from it, but I did benefit from an education in a time when grammar was still taught in schools, and my mother had a posh boyfriend when she was a teenager and he used to tell her what was correct English. Whether this was patronising mansplaining or not, I don't know - he was long gone before I arrived on the scene - but she passed nuggets of information down to me.

So there it is - a bit picky. Things that don't actually have me hurling books at the wall or yelling at the radio, but still provoke a deep, long suffering sigh. 

Things that provoke the sighing? Comprising of. You don't need the of - it is just comprising. It is alarming how often you find this mistake in books and articles. OK - the writer may not know, but the editor, whose job it is to manage the words, should surely pick it up? Another  of that gets me sighing is bored of. It's bored with, people. I suspect I'm on a loosing battle there as the former seems to be becoming accepted use. 

I still recite  - different from, similar to - on occasion. I think that was one of the ones that came from the boyfriend.

Popular sayings also get on my nerves. Often connected to people in politics - I wonder why that might be. Pet hates at the moment? At pace. What's wrong with fast, quickly, rapidly, as soon as possible? Another one - watching on - to me it doesn't even make sense! The on is redundant. 

A lot of the problems come from those pesky little prepositions. The things you're not supposed to end a sentence with. Tiny, but full of pitfalls. 

That's my moan for this week. As I said, I am not perfect. I have trouble with lose and loose and lie and lay but I do know that I have to look them up, which helps. 

The world is not going to end because of a preposition, but I will still be the one sighing heavily in the corner when one gets misplaced. 

So - what else did you do in London?

 The prime purpose of my visit to London was the flower show - subject of last week's blog, and to see old friends. But it wasn't just that - I was there for a week. I had a fabulous, if expensive, time. London, particularly eating out, has got very pricey. My credit card chickens are now coming home to roost! It was worth it though. 

So - what did I do? Well, there was a coffee morning at the Society of Authors - a chance to see the office, meet officials of what is effectively my trade union,  chat and laugh with other authors from all sorts of genres and eat some delicious pastries.  It was a interesting morning. I followed it up with a trip on the bus to Battersea Power station - my 'mastery' of the London bus system is one of my recent achievements. When I lived there I was strictly a tube girl. The old power station is a cavernous space, with a mix of chain shops and specialised stores, lots of eating places and a very nice bookshop. I enjoyed some retail therapy and dinner. Thursday I did the environs of Oxford Street, seeing a friend, with a lecture in the evening on Tarot cards, with wine, at Occult bookshop Treadwells. The speaker - Melissa Mercury - was informed and entertaining on the use of the cards in books and films. Another enjoyable evening. 

Friday I found my way down to Dulwich, to the picture gallery  and an exhibit of the paintings of Tirzah Garwood. She was the wife, then young widow, of the war artist Eric Ravilious. Like many artistic wives she was an artist in her own right and the exhibition was impressive. I have art tutor Stephen Parker to thank for that day out, as he introduced me to her work as part of his Cardiff university class on art and gardens.  Saturday was lunch with friends and a concert at St Martin's in the Fields. it was Mozart's Requiem - which for some reason always sparks creative ideas. I bet I was the only member of the audience sending a Bentley over a cliff. Writers are funny like that - well this one is. I do hope I get round to writing the book that goes with it. 

Sunday I ambled around Covent Garden with a free afternoon concert at St Martin's, celebrating world football day. I had no idea that was a thing, but we heard some fine singing of various soccer anthems.

And then it was time to come home. As I have said, I really enjoyed it.  Will I do it again? I really don't know. But I have some good memories and maybe the opening of a new book. We will all have to wait and see.