I began writing The Artful Anna Harris as an act of rebellion. After many false starts, two previous novels had come close but ultimately failed to find a publisher so, dripping with disappointment, I decided to have one last shot. If that didn’t work I’d shut my laptop and use it as a tray. Bizarrely, this decision was freeing. Self-censorship went out of the window. In came a delicious playfulness.
Writers are advised to ‘Write what you love’ and ‘Write what you know’ and ‘Kill your darlings,’ which is the much-quoted idea that you must cut aspects you adore if they do not serve the narrative or the character. Not overly keen on being told what to do, I adopted two out of three.
What do I love? I love The Talented Mr Ripley, coming to the book from Minghella’s wonderful 1999 film adaptation. I carried on to read many of Highsmith’s other novels, all of which feature excellent anti-heroes. Highsmith had a talent for creating often unlikeable, in many ways ordinary characters who commit heinous acts that are, in the context of the story, entirely justifiable. By offering a window into the minds of these flawed people, the sort of people you pass by every day, we are invited to collude. And colluding is all too easy. I think I’ve always enjoyed rooting for those who behave badly, from my teenage reading of Bronte’s Wuthering Heights – Heathcliffe is detestable – to Frank Cauldhame, the violent, isolated teenage narrator of Banks’ The Wasp Factory; from Tartt’s The Secret History which features a whole cast of anti-heroes to the emotionally stunted Istvan in David Szalay’s Flesh, last year’s winner of the Booker Prize. How much more interesting to side with someone you know you shouldn’t?
So, onto what do I know. I know English villages, their community spirit and their spitefulness, their hidden secrets and their open lies.
Put the two together and I give you my Ripley-esque anti-hero, Anna Harris, who is living in a suffocatingly pretty village surrounded by her boyfriend’s extended family. Everything in the garden is rosy until the vivacious Sofia arrives on the scene and unleashes what Anna tries so hard to keep at bay. As Anna shares her innermost thoughts, she invites you to take her side. I’m biased, but I don’t think that’s too much to ask.
The book is full of darlings that I refused to kill. Choosing instead to give you Anna in all her glory, the beautiful and the ugly. As a nod to Highsmith, or maybe just for fun, I wove little vignettes from Ripley’s story. Fans will spot the references.
Despite her morally ambiguous character, I like Anna very much. I wonder who else will become a fan.
Warning: if you like justice to be done, look away.
The Artful Anna Harris by Tracy Maton (Profile Books) Out Now '
You are quite the chameleon, aren't you? You could wear anything, do anything, and yet you choose plain, plain, plain. Is it all a front for a secret life?' When the vivacious Sofia Carstairs arrives in her sleepy country village, Anna knows her life will never be the same again. Her new best friend is carefree, elegant and intoxicating. Her life doesn't revolve around church flower arrangements or Sunday lunches with the in-laws. Sofia reminds Anna of the person she used to be, before she worked so hard to fit in that she practically disappeared. But is it enough to just be Sofia's friend? Anna wonders what it would be like to be Sofia, if only for a little while. But once Anna starts pretending, she finds it easy to pretend the rules don't apply to her. How far will Anna go to get what she wants.And what will she do to those that stand in her way?
You can find Tracy Maton on Instagram @tracymatonwriter
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