Love & Crime at St Hilda's -

Andrew Taylor - St Hilda's 2015

It is hard to believe that St Hilda's has been going strong for 22 years.  It is also hard to believe that it is again over for another year.  But this in fact the case.  This year St Hilda's Crime and Mystery Conference took place between 14th and 16th August.  The Conference was dedicated to the memory of P D James who was a staunch supporter of the Conference and who had attended on a number of occasions.  Anne Cleeves was the Conference Guest of Honour and Andrew Taylor was Chair.

The River Cherwell - St Hilda's 2015

For longstanding attendees the art to enjoying St Hilda's (or I should say my art to enjoying St Hilda's) is by turning up early enough to wander into town and have some lunch with friend's (trying hard to ensure that you sit by a window) and watch as other fellow attendees arrive in Oxford for St Hilda's and wave at each other frantically as they wander past!  For me my other enjoyment about St Hilda's is that I normally have  a pretty good idea where my room is going to be and I believe that I have only been wrong twice.  The first time being when I gave my first paper at St Hilda's and Eileen Roberts and Kate decided that as a speaker I should have an ensuite room.  Not that I minded have the ensuite room which was wonderful.  I just missed what I and a number of others who normally have rooms near to one another called "our corridor" . The second time this happened was last year when due to the fact that there were other students still in the halls I was put somewhere else.  My normal room is always in the main building in the South block.  The reason that I like being there is because I have a gorgeous view of the River Cherwell as I look out the window. What's not to like? 

St Hilda's actually starts when we all congregate @ 6:45pm for early evening drinks before dinner.  It is a chance to dress up, catch up and generally look forward to the conference.  This year the Conference dinner speaker was Simon Brett.  If you have ever heard Simon speak then you will understand that he can have you in fits of laughter in minutes.  However, as much as Simon made us laugh and smile he also shared with us all some of his treasured memories of P D James as well. It was a wonderful after dinner speech.  As per usual most of us made our way into the Senior Common Room or SCR as most of us know it by to relax, drink and talk before slowly meandering our way off to our various rooms. 

Ayo Onatade - St Hilda's 2015

St Hilda's always kicks off in earnest on the Saturday morning just after 9:00am after a welcome from Kate Charles.  This year I was giving a paper.  The title was Crimes of Passion: Detecting Couples - the Light and Dark Side of Love and Crime and my talk was partly on the different ways in which love has been used as a motive for murder and also the various detecting couples or sleuthing teams. I along with Alison Joseph were first up.  Alison's paper was on the romance of the lone detective.  The full title of the paper was Heavier than Broken Hearts: the Romance of the Lone Detective.

Natasha Cooper & Len Tyler (L-R) St Hilda's 2015

After a coffee break it was the turn of Natasha Cooper and Len Tyler.  Natasha Cooper talked about The Dark Side of Love using Scott Turow's first novel Presumed Innocent as a reference point. One of the points that she made was the fact that murder always had its roots in failed relationships. The title of Len Tyler's paper was Revenge: When it all Turns Sour and as an example of the ultimate revenge Len Tyler discussed the case of John Wayne Bobbitt and Lorena Bobbitt. 

After lunch, the next two papers were presented.  The title of the first paper was Reader, I Murdered Him  and was given by Ann Granger.  She spoke about how she became a crime writer after initially starting out as a romance writer.  She kept on putting murder etc in her romance novels and she kept on being asked to take them out.  She explained that she realised that she would prefer to write crime novels instead.  The second speaker was Nicola Upson and the title of her paper was Devices and Desires: The Tangent of Love in English Crime Fiction.  Of course the eagle-eyed amongst you will recognise the P D James connection.  Nicola Upson spoke not only about her friendship with PD James but also the encouragement that she received from her.  She also talked about deciding to use Josephine Tey as  a character and the doubts that she had about doing so. She explained that she received a lot of access to Tey's friends especially with the first book.    She believed that Tey would have hated to have anything written about her and that she would have not have liked the biography that has been done and is due out soon.  Ann Granger on being asked which author (if she were to make them a character) would she choose?   She said that she would choose Charles Dickens but that she would be frightened to use an author as a character and would not do so.

Alison Joseph indicated that she is writing a series of novels with Agatha Christie as a protagonist and wondered where one drew the line. The issue of the legal ramifications of using a real person were also mentioned.  Ann Granger pointed out that using a real person would hamper her.  It was however pointed out that one cannot slander the dead. Natasha Cooper pointed out that we all write novels that we think we completely understand. Te question was raised as to whether anybody could write a fictional book with PD James as a character?   Nicola Upson revealed that a character in her next book had been named after Pd James and that the character would (like PD James) be working in a theatre in Cambridge. One of the last points mentioned by Ann Granger was the fact that Georgette Heyer was not appreciated enough and it was thought that the reason for this is because she wrote too many books.

Val McDermid St Hilda's 2015

The last two speakers on Saturday were Frances Fyfield and Val McDermid.  The title of the paper being given by Frances Fyfield was The Usefulness of Hatred whilst Val McDermid's was Love: The Perfect Motive for Murder. in her she pointed out that 45% of women are killed by their partners. Questions are always asked after the papers are given or comments made. In answer to one of the questions, Frances pointed out that hatred in crime fiction is useful and that is was sometimes more useful than others. Val McDermid in response to a question was interested in knowing which was harder, to forgive the unrepentant or to hate the repentant? It was felt that hatred is a complete negative option.  Val McDermid pointed out that revenge can sometimes take things out of your system.

Always after the final two speakers on the Saturday afternoon then there is always time for attendees to get their books signed. This year as a result of the anthology that I did with Len Tyler which was published last year I found myself in the rather strange position of being asked to sign copies!

The after dinner speaker on Saturday was Canadian author Alan Bradley who is best known for his books featuring Flavia de Luce.  He gave a very humorous after dinner speech about book reviews and reviewing.

The common practice on Sunday morning is for there to be free time for punting, going to church, reading the newspaper, relaxing and so forth until mid-morning when the conference lecture is given.  Yes I did sneak off to relax and no I am not telling you were I snuck off to. 

This year the Conference Lecturer was given by Ann Cleeves who was the Guest of Honour.

Ann Cleeves - St Hilda's 2015

The title of her lecturer was Love in Amsterdam: Nicolas Freeling, Sex and Sentimentality.   Part of the title coming from Freeling's first novel in the Van de Valk series the 1962 book Love in Amsterdam which was also known as Death in Amsterdam. In her lecture Ann Cleeves pointed out that Nicolas Freeling and his protagonist Van de Valk predated the Martin Beck series by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. She explained that he began writing after being sent to jail for three weeks and that it was Nicolas Freeling that triggered her love of translated crime.  However, when he killed off his protagonist unlike with Sherlock Holmes he refused to bring him back. After giving her lecture questions were asked and one of the questions that was asked by Andrew Taylor was whether or not she was tempted to set a novel further afield from the Shetlands?  In response, Ann explained that she did not like doing research unless she could do it somewhere like the South of France for three months tax free! Otherwise she preferred the North.  She went on to explain that she could not get into a book unless the atmosphere and tone was right. Also that very tiny details brought things to life, showing not telling. Ann also stated that a sense of voyeurism is what translated fiction was to her.  One of the best points that was made was when Ann made the point that she did not understand how one could be a writer if they did not use public transport.

It was also considered whether the war had been good for Nicolas Freeling's novels?  It was also pointed out that because crime fiction was now so broad that we could now go back and read the early work such as those from the "Golden Age" period.  Natasha Cooper said that she would rescue the early Gavin Lyall novels. 

Kate Charles - St Hilda's 2015

Unfortunately I did not catch the end of Ann Cleeves's lecture or the two that were given after lunch being Tom Harper whose paper was Love of Money: The Root of all Evil and Jo Hines whose paper was entitled Deadlier Than the Mother as I had to leave early for once..  

The dates for St Hilda's next year is from 19th August to 21st August 2016 and the theme is "The Question of Genre - What is Crime Fiction?".  The Conference speaker and Guest of Honour is Lee Child!  What a coup!!!.

Watch this space for more information about next year's Conference!

Ayo Onatade & Val McDermid - St Hilda's 2015

all pictures copyright Ayo Onatade @2015

St Hilda's Crime and Mystery Conference - Sunday 18 August 2013 and final thoughts

Sundays at St Hilda's always tends to be a much more leisurely affair despite the anticipation and the fact that all of us in attendance know that the weekend is nearly over.

After breakfast and before the Conference Lecture there is always the opportunity to relax, go for a walk, go punting or do whatever your heart desires.  In my case I disappeared off with two friends around to the local coffee shop to have a large cafe latte and a catch-up.

The conference started again in earnest just before midday when Jill Paton Walsh gave the Conference Lecture.  The title of her talk was From Daniel to Dr Who via Aristotle.  In her talk, Jill Paton Walsh stated that she did not consider herself to be a genre writer but a novelist and a general reader.  She was also curious to know why crime fiction was not being given its due especially since the barrier surrounding genre fiction is being stormed in all directions.  She also stated that there was a well established trend of literary novelists writing crime novels and that genre jumping was not new.  Jill Paton Walsh also gave us an insiders and scholarly take on Dorothy L Sayers.

© Ayo Onatade

I also chaired a panel on the Sunday afternoon after lunch on Is there a Future for Crime Fiction? The panel members were Richard Reynolds from Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge, Broo Doherty an agent and Ruth Tross who is an editor for Mulholland Books and imprint at Hodder and Stoughton.  In a wide ranging panel discussion the topics that were discussed included - what was selling to the publishing houses and to the public via the bookshops, why does sex and violence sell or has there been a falling off in sales of violent serial killer books.  Where can the genre go next?, exciting new writers we might now about.  What part bloggers and critics play in getting new writers to the fore and whether or not it was true that men sell better books than books by women despite the fact that women buy more books than men.

One of the good things about St Hilda's is the fact that there are always a large number of authors in attendance whether or not they are giving a talk.  This year it was a pleasure to see in addition to those giving talks authors such as AK Benedict, Frances Brody, Marjorie Eccles, Kate Ellis, Jane Finnis, Anthea Fraser, Ann Granger, Betty Rowlands, Caroline Todd, Leigh Russell, Juliet McKenna, Marcia Talley and Rebecca Tope to name a few.

I am always sad when St Hilda's finishes.  It is like wanting to extend your holiday and

Frances Fyfield, Martin Edwards & Andrew Taylor © Ayo Onatade

knowing that you can't.  It is such a shame. This year was no exception.  The success of this Conference is down to a combination of things.  Kate Charles and Eileen Roberts for their impeccable organising skills, one is not in the least bit surprised that St Hilda's is now in its twentieth year and also the Chair of the conference in this case Natasha Cooper who has a wonderful flair for putting people at easy and for ensuring in her calm, efficient way that everyone enjoys themselves.  All of them work in such an amazing manner that it is no wonder that everyone keeps on coming back year after year.

So what about next year?  As is the tradition Kate Charles announced the theme and the

(L-R) Kate Ellis and Jane Finnis © Ayo Onatade

dates at the end of the Conference.  The theme is War in Crime Fiction or as Eileen said, Crime in War Time.  As for the dates, next year St Hilda's Crime and Mystery Conference will take place between 15th and 17th August 2014.  I for one shall most certainly be there.

‘Stop You’re Killing Me’ – Humour in Crime Fiction

The annual Mystery and Crime weekend is due to take place St Hilda’s College from 17^th to 19^th August 2012.  Now in its 19^th year, the theme this year is Stop You’re Killing Me – Humour in Crime Fiction.

As per usual, the conference offers the speakers the opportunity to explore a chosen theme.  Some of the authors due to give papers include – Alan Bradley, Simon Brett, Ann Cleeves, Natasha Cooper, Barry Forshaw, Gillian Linscott, Val McDermid, Marcia Talley, Chris Ewan and LC Tyler.  Kate Ellis is one of the after diner speakers whilst Peter Lovesey will be giving the Conference Lecture on the Sunday morning.  Andrew Taylor will chair the conference.

Organised by author KateCharles who is a former chairman of the Crime Writers Association and the Barbara Pym Society and Eileen Roberts former Director of Alumnae Relations at St Hilda’s College and now project consultant to St Hilda’s Development & Alumnae Office.  This year Kate Charles and Eileen Roberts will also be honoured with the George N Dove Award for contributions to the study of crime fiction. 

Like last year.  I shall hopefully be blogging about the conference.  My blog posts about last year’s conference can be found here and here.  I shall also be tweeting using the hashtag #StHilda’s2012.  Look out for what may be some rather infrequent tweets.

Mystery & Crime at the Oxford Literary Festival

Those of you that regularly attend St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference that takes place every year at St Hilda’s College in Oxford will know Eileen Roberts. She has passed on the following information regarding the forthcoming Oxford Literary Festival.

Two of our Mystery & Crime Weekend stars, Simon Brett and Sophie Hannah, will be contributors at the Oxford Literary Festival this year. The details are below and I do hope to see you there - I will be chairing their session. This will be the second in the series, following PD James defending Agatha & Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L., which was a sell-out last year!

Saturday 31 March 12pm - Christ Church Hall

MURDER MYSTERY: BLOODBATH OR BRAINTEASER. WITH SIMON BRETT AND SOPHIE HANNAH

As a sampler of the celebrated Mystery and Crime Weekend held every August at St Hilda's College, crime-writing stars and Crime Weekend regulars Sophie Hannah and Simon Brett respectively defend the 'dark and twisted' new school and the cosy old school of murder mysteries.

Booking is now open for 300 events, 24 March-1 April 2012, on www.oxfordliteraryfestival.org Search 'Hilda' on www.oxfordliteraryfestival.org for full details of St Hilda's events (including Simon and Sophie's). Alternately booking on 0870 343 1001 and quoting 'St Hilda's' for will get you a 10% discount!

The Somme Stations wins the Ellis Peters Historical Award

(Andrew Martin © Mike Stotter)

This year the CWA Ellis Peters Award ceremony took place in the Smoking Room of the elegant Athenaeum club. A large number of crime writers, reviewers and bloggers turned up to find out who won this year’s Ellis Peters Historical Award. Amongst those present included former Chairs of the CWA Natasha Cooper, Janet Laurence and Michael Ridpath. Also present were critics Michael Carlson, Mike Ripley, Mike Stotter. Some others present included Chris Simmonds (Crimesquad), Myles Allfrey (Crimefest) and David Headley (Goldsboro Books), Thalia Proctor, Peter Guttridge to name a few. The ceremony was organised once again by publicist Sam Eades from Headline.

The award which is sponsored by the Estate of Ellis Peters, Headline Book Publishing Group and Little, Brown Book Group is given to the best historical crime novel set in any period up to 35 years prior to the year in which the award will be made.

This year the shortlist was:-
Prince by Rory Clements (John Murray)
The Red Coffin by Sam Eastland (Faber & Faber)
The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
The Somme Stations by Andrew Martin (Faber & Faber)
The Cleansing Flame by R N Morris (Faber & Faber)
Island of Bones by Imogen Robertson (Headline)

(Eileen Roberts © Mike Stotter)

After a brief introduction by Jane Morpeth from Headline and Claire McGowan a Director at the CWA the Chair of the panel Eileen Roberts gave a short speech before announcing the winner. She noted that whilst every year it gets harder and harder to choose a winner as the standard keeps on getting better and better, this year the winner had stood out.

The judging panel consisted of –
Eileen Roberts (Chair)
Geoffrey Bailey
Barry Forshaw
Sir Bernard Ingham
Jake Kerridge

This year the winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Award was “Andrew Martin with his novel The Somme Stations. The judging panel said of The Somme Stations: Andrew Martin’s novels featuring railway detective Jim Stringer reveal their treasures in subtle fashion with a winning synthesis of period atmosphere, intriguing plotting and a passion for steam railways.

(Eileen Roberts & Andrew Martin © Mike Stotter)

On accepting the award, Andrew Martin said that he was very pleased to win the award and the recognition that it gave. He was extremely pleased to win as it had been an extremely strong list.

The Somme Stations is set during the horrors of World War One and the trenches. Stringer and his unit find themselves undertaking dangerous night assignments which included taking munitions to the front by train late at night. Death is still everywhere and Stringer finds himself investigating a killing before the departure for France.

Congratulations go to Andrew Martin for winning the Ellis Peters Historical Award and also to the other shortlisted authors.

St Hilda's Crime & Mystery Weekend - Anatomy of Justice

(Val McDermid & Ayo Onatade - Picture © Marcia Talley)

I thought that I was going to have the opportunity to blog about the conference over this weekend but alas not. It is a testament to how much fun I was having over the weekend that I did not manage to do any blogging.

If you have never managed to attend St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference then you have missed a treat. Unlike Crimefest or Harrogate St Hilda’s is a lot more academic. The weekend is always based around a theme that is chosen and agreed by the organisers at the end of each previous conference. This year the theme of the conference was Anatomy of Justice and the papers that were presented all used this as the main background to their talk.

As an attendee you know that St Hilda’s has started when everyone gathers on the lawn overlooking the River Cherwell for a champagne reception early on Friday evening. It is not only a chance for everyone to meet up before the conference starts in earnest on the Saturday morning but it is also a chance to renew friendships, see which of the stalwarts are back again and generally catch up amongst the spires of Merton and Magdalen College. The drinks reception is always followed by the first of the two conference dinners and by tradition those that are giving a paper on the Saturday get to sit at the top table. Thus I found myself on the top table alongside Kate Charles, Val McDermid, Cath Staincliffe, Triona Adams, Natasha (NJ) Cooper who was Chair of the conference this year, Frances Fyfield and Ann Granger. Both Val McDermid and Triona Adams are former students of St Hilda’s. In fact Val is now a Fellow of the college as well. After the dinner there is always a conference dinner speaker. This year it was Triona Adams who spoke about remembering the late Sarah Caudwell with whom she was a great friend. Sarah Caudwell had in fact been a speaker at the very first conference back in 1994. After dinner everybody wandered down to the Senior Common Room (SCR) and spent the rest of the evening just talking and catching up with one another. This was enlivened by the added fact that Eileen Roberts the co-organiser kindly added to the jollity of the occasion by supplying wine.

The conference well and truly started on Saturday morning after breakfast. One of the things that I like about St Hilda’s is the fact that you all stay together on the College grounds. It is very reminiscent of being back in boarding school but it is such good fun that one does not worry too much at the basic facilities. Some people may but I certainly do not. It always adds to the fun. The first papers that were given were by Val McDermid and myself. My paper was entitled Life along the Judicial Corridor whilst Val’s paper was entitled Making the Law work for you: an author’s guide. I don’t normally talk about my day job and this was one of the few times that I spoke about working with senior members of the judiciary for the last 12 years. Val spoke eloquently about how making the law work for authors. What generally tends to happen is that after two papers are given then the speakers answer questions from the audience.

After a brief break for tea and coffee the second round of papers were given. This time Frances Fyfield spoke about Peculiar Trials and after listening to a radio programme that she had done on BBC World Service about animals going on trial for offences that they had committed she also spoke about why this happened. Cath Staincliffe who gave a heartfelt, thought provoking and moving paper about assisted dying and the way in which it is dealt with by the law, followed Frances Fyfield. A lively discussion took place afterwards and this included P D James who was attending the conference for part of the day who commented on the difficulties surrounding assisted dying.

After lunch the first two papers that were given were by Jane Finnis who spoke about Laws and Sausages: Justice in the Roman Empire and Ann Granger who spoke about Newgate Prison and whether or not it was a symbol of its times? Following a brief break again for tea Andrew Taylor and Martin Edwards were the next two to give the final papers of the day. Andrew spoke about Willkie Collins and the women in his life. Andrew Taylor’s talk was most interesting as he highlighted the rather strange relationship that Willkie Collins with the two main women in his life and the way in which he managed to balance the two together. When he died he even split his possessions equally between the two families. Martin’s talk was about British lawyers who are also authors. Martin himself falls into this group along with Rankin Davies, Dexter Dias and the late Cyril Hare. He also discussed Tragedy at Law, which is the book that Cyril Hare is best known for. It was interesting listening to both Andrew Taylor and Martin Edwards as they answered questions afterwards. They make a very good double team.

(Martin Edwards & Andrew Taylor - Picture © Ayo Onatade)

You always pick up snippets of interesting information whilst you are at St Hilda’s and this year was no exception. Did you know that the late Michael Gilbert was once Raymond Chandler’s legal advisor? I didn’t!

After the final papers on Saturday there is always a signing session for all the authors that are present. This takes place in the SCR and it is always and opportunity for attendees to get their books signed by authors that are present whether or not that author is actually giving a paper. It is also an opportunity for photographs to be taken and conversations to take place between attendees and the authors in a much more relaxed atmosphere.

The after dinner speech on the Saturday evening is always given by the conference Chair and this year NJ Cooper gave a speech on recalling Trish Maguire. What has now become a tradition; Mystery Women hosted a drinks reception in the SCR. Those of you that know me are aware of the fact that I have no qualms in staying up late at these things. However, I was remarkably restrained and found myself back in my room just after 12:00am on Friday and Saturday.

Sunday is always slightly different and after breakfast there is the opportunity to do whatever you like. Whether it be go to Church, punt or just relax. This year I made the most of the opportunity and wandered up the Cowley Road with my friend and fantasy author Juliet McKenna to have a relaxing morning catching up with her and would you believe to do so work as well!

(Bernard Knight - Picture © Ayo Onatade)

The talks began mid-morning with a fascinating Conference Lecture by the Conference Guest of Honour Professor Bernard Knight CBE. His lecture was on The Coroner: Medieval Relic or useful institution? In essence it was a history of the work of the Coroner. He explained that Coroners only came into being around 1194 partly due to Richard the Lionheart. Their job was varied and multifaceted but always had a financial backdrop. It was not until 1282 that Coroners were established in Wales. Bernard Knight’s talk covered a wide broad spectrum of the work of the Coroner from its original beginnings to the present day. He touched on some of the more unusual aspects of the early work of a Coroner, which included the fact that they used to have to attend all hangings. Only a Coroner could declare someone an outlaw if they did not turn up to court after three chances. They were appointed by the King to do anything. He also pointed out that police programmes often got the role of the Coroner wrong. As he explained, they could call for a Doctor but a post-mortem could not be done without the permission of a Coroner. Rather sadly this is not the impression that is given on police programmes.

Professor Knight is a former Home Office Pathologist who has dealt with some rather high-profile cases. He is also the author of the Crowner John Mysteries a series of 12^th Century historical mysteries featuring Sir John de Wolfe Coroner of the Verge. So far there are 14 books in the series. He is also the author of the Dr Richard Pryor series, which is set in 1955 Wales.

(Penny Evans - Picture © Ayo Onatade)

After lunch the final session of the day started. Penny Evans spoke on the topic of provocation and how it is dealt with by the law under the title Wicked Mr Boyce and the slow burn: A talk about why it is better to kill your husband when he’s awake… As she pointed out, women are most certainly given a rough deal when provocation is raised as a defence in court compared to men. The final paper of the day was given by Keith Miles (aka Edward Marston) who spoke wittily and extremely funnily about the character Rumpole of the Bailey. It was a fitting end to the conference.

One cannot thank Eileen Roberts and Kate Charles enough for organising such a wonderful conference. Furthermore having a wonderful Chair adds to the lustre and NJ Cooper was absolutely wonderful. She is so good at putting people at ease and she does it with such charm and style.

So what about next year?

The dates have already been agreed and the theme chosen. Next year St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference will take place between 17^th and 19^th August 2012 and the theme is Stop You’re Killing Me: Humour in Crime Fiction. So note the date and I look forward to seeing many of you there!