Lodgers Novel Inspiration

Hi dear readers,

I hope you all are well and have devoured lots of books in the Covid lockdown. My deepest sympathies go to anybody who has lost loved ones during this terrible time.

If you enjoyed my previous novel, The Dark Before The Dawn you will be totally engrossed in my latest work The Lodgers which is a tale comprised of disparate characters boarding in an old lodging house on the seafront at Brighton UK.

My inspiration for the novel came from a discussion with a friend of mine who had resided in a similar establishment in London in 1960. He told me about the creaking stairs, the shared bathroom and a basin which had a constant dripping tap. There was an aged army major living there as a permanent resident and also a lady who had been a dancer in the vaudeville shows.

Hence the landlady Mabel was based on this woman and Arthur became the old army major. I was always interested in the plight of unmarried mothers especially the girls spirited away from Ireland so Therese was invented. My interest in the World Wars and the terrible repercussions resulting from them led to the characters, Ned, his mother and also poor Judy who is admirably cared for by her recovering alcoholic sister Irene who assumes the role of matriarch in the lodging house. I included the south of France where I have travelled and my own beloved country, the wide brown land of Australia.

I do hope you will enjoy this novel as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Best wishes and happy reading

Annette