Linda, thank you for agreeing to be
featured on my blog.
Before last month, I rarely read a book
that featured horses! Now, I have read three. I thought a lot of the book &
film “WARHORSE” as I read this. Not as much for the content, but for the fact that
horses have been used (and abused) by humans for years. One of my favourite
stories ever written, ANIMAL FARM, depicts this perfectly with the catchphrase
“must work harder”.
In your book, THE FIRST VET, we get to
see the other side. How men fought to protect and create a better life for
animals by creating a new profession, veterinary science. Ultimately, they had
a vested interest. The longer the horse lived, the more they could use it.
However, your addition of complex characters added to my overall enjoyment.
This was my official review…
“I came across this book by chance
after I sent out a request for book links a few days before Christmas! For a
change, I decided to buy some books instead of getting free books! I loved the
sound of this one and I was not disappointed - what a fantastic story!
Basically, this book is written from
the point of view of Bracy, a man who has given up a career as a surgeon to
become one of the first vets ever. Even though set in the late 18th Century,
the story is vivid and I immediately liked Bracy a lot. He stands by his
principles, is kind, hardworking, and will not tolerate corruption.
Whilst challenging the new head of the
veterinary college, a surgeon more interested in lacing his own pocket, he
meets his "crippled" sister, who becomes another key figure in this
well-crafted tale. Without giving away the plot, Bracy then goes on to
establish himself as a vet in London and prove that he can help people keep their
horses, and livelihood, alive.
I devoured this book and learnt a lot
in the process. I would highly recommend for readers who love a romantic story
with a historical element and horses! I also think it does a lot to raise
awareness of the perception of disability that still exists today.”
What do you think of my review?
It made me emotional and I had trouble reading it aloud to my family.
I’m a very emotional person and it was my first professional review so I was a
little choked that you liked it so much. It’s great if friends, or even
strangers, think your book is good but if a reviewer likes it, you have to take
yourself very seriously. I used to do theatre reviews for a living and know how
jaded some critics can become. I was never jaded but a critic searches for
quality so much that they end up demanding it, unlike someone who doesn’t get
out much! I was chuffed with your very erudite and well written review!
I am over the moon that my review
created this response… you deserve my praise.
Moving on, did you find it hard to
write historical fiction? I am currently writing one and it’s the hardest thing
I’ve ever done! One step forward, two steps backwards. How did you research it?
Hard? I was screaming, ‘Let me write chick lit,’ most days. Writing isn’t
easy. (I totally agree…)
Writing historical fiction is so frustrating and difficult that it’s a
wonder anyone finishes one. There were so many times that I had to rewrite
because I’d got the history wrong. Not all of it was easy to research. How did
they ‘put a horse to sleep’ in 1794? How long would it take to lead a lame
horse from Camden to the city of London? Such useful information is not on the
Internet but there were plenty of sites telling me that women didn’t wear
knickers in those days!
Fortunately, I was writing about a man who wrote a lot of books and he
helped me a lot. He told me of his battle with the head of the college and
explained many of the veterinary terms and medicines used at the time. I included
his recipes and I used many of his cases. There was even an account of a young
child burnt in an accident who Bracy thrust into a huge wine bucket full of icy
water which was on the dinner table. It wasn’t generally known at the time that
cold water would soothe a burn. I loved being able to put real events like that
into the book although I swapped the dining room for a wood yard.
It’s a well-documented period in veterinary history and there are a
number of books available that cover those early days. I also took myself many
times to the Royal Veterinary College library and the British Library. There I
found Bracy’s books, his many periodicals and his letters. That’s how I knew he
was a man determined to give up surgery to help the horse, a man who cared
little for money. He was a worthy hero of a book.
What was the editorial process like
once the book was written? Did this take a long time?
I had a wonderful editor – Liz Bailey. She has written novels in the Georgian
period herself for Penguin and was pretty damned sharp. She kept my writing tight and she kept me in
period if I slipped up, which I did occasionally. Thoroughbred? Did they call
horses thoroughbreds then, Linda? she asked. No, they were known as blood
horses, I should have remembered that.
I spent a few months rewriting once she gave me her suggestions. It’s
not always easy to hear where your book is not working but it’s something
authors and journalists have to learn to listen to. You need to find someone
who treats you and your manuscript with sympathy and respect. They need to be able
to explain why it’s not working. I
particularly had to work with my opening chapter, a sagging middle and the
character of Edward Coleman, the head of the college, who was too urbane and
placid until I gave him a bit more temper. (This worked very well)
Can you tell us about the inspiration
for the story?
Bracy Clark himself was the inspiration. He led in the first horse to
the veterinary college; he was one of our first vets. He is still highly
controversial today and I am drawn to a good contretemps! Let me explain…you
see, he was ahead of his time 200 years ago and horse owners and veterinary professionals
are still struggling to keep up with him now. He spoke out against strong bits,
spurs and whips but most importantly he made the important discovery that
nailing a metal shoe to a horse’s flexible hoof was harmful and shortening their
lives.
He proved his case using science but his work was ignored by the
veterinary establishment and it’s still being condemned now by many sceptics
who remain unconvinced. Ah, but that is changing slowly; his name crops up on a
number of websites and his work is being revisited.
More and more people are riding horses without shoes, myself included. I
first found him in an obscure book by a German vet of all places and thought
he’d make a brilliant subject for a book.
I couldn’t believe my luck when I began researching him, though, because
the real story was very strong. He didn’t care about money and he spoke against
the abuse of these animals the economy so relied upon. His battle against
corruption helped me to understand why his veterinary work was suppressed; he
was making someone extremely uncomfortable. That someone was the head of the
veterinary college; a man he accused of pocketing the student fees, a man who
was patenting and selling horse shoes and medicines! Imagine the headlines in
the popular press today. (Animal
welfare cases can get into the headlines today, but I wonder if it would make
the front page?)
I was completely engrossed by the two
main characters, Bracy and Christina. I respected Bracy for his dedication and
Christina for her fiery nature. I found the way they both dealt with her
disability to be beautifully portrayed. Do you think society has changed
significantly in over 200 years in its perception of disability?
Yes, I do. I’m not saying it’s easy for people with disabilities but at
least they are sometimes admired and
celebrated for their achievements. They are given some protection in law
against discrimination and they are much more likely to lead full, independent
lives.
I went to the Paralympics just as I was beginning to write The First Vet
and it was awesome. There were riders who had limbs missing, some who could
barely walk and yet they rode a horse in a crowded stadium with such skill. Seeing
them made me confident that someone with Christina’s disability would manage
much better on a horse than she would on the ground. Riding would give her a
rare chance for equality, a need in her that Bracy, as a Quaker, would
understand. Thanks to the brilliant riders of the Paralympics, my character of Christina
was born.
I have never ridden a horse, and find
that I am nervous amongst animals, having never had much exposure to them
growing up in Gibraltar. What experience do you have, and did this help you
write your novel?
I have ridden horses most of my life and I don’t seem to be able to give
them up even now! I have my own horse, plus one for my daughter, and we look
after them ourselves. If you have horses you learn how to care for them when
they are injured or ill – you become their nurse even though you can’t become
their vet. So, sadly, I am familiar with some of the medical conditions
described in The First Vet and that was a great help. There is a scene in the
book where Bracy is fighting for the life of one of his patients. It was very
emotional for me to write because I’d been there and done that. Equally, there
were appalling treatments that I was
ignorant of, such as firing which is now illegal in Britain. Bracy described in
one of his books how a burning hot, metal rod was applied to a horse with an
injured tendon. He began to abhor the practice and said the scene he witnessed at
a forge in Brighton was enough to ‘make a grown man shudder’.
Vanessa, don’t be frightened of horses! Remember they are grass eaters
and are rarely aggressive. (I will
try to remember that)
The head of the veterinary college,
Edward Coleman, was not someone I regard as honest or likeable. He was
definitely the villain, even though he kept the college in an outwardly
ship-shape condition. The way your story evolved I was drawn back to my GCSE
English days, when I studied THE CONE GATHERERS. I was in tears when I read
that book, since its depiction of disability was brought to life by Duror, a
man driven to madness by his disgust of his wife. Do you think a “nasty”
character adds a certain depth to a story? Did anyone inspire Edward?
Yes, a story needs characters of contrast – the yin and yang of a book.
A nasty, or negative, character gives the hero something to battle against and
something to overcome. Once again, my character was based on the man himself
or, at least, what I could find out about him in the history books. Edward
Coleman was the head of the college for more than 40 years and one historian
described him as an ‘unmitigated evil’.
Bracy’s own account of him would make a wonderful libel trial were he to
write something similar today with our current laws against defamation unless
he had proof of the corruption that he alleged. I didn’t set out to make
Coleman a villain but the more I read of him the more I turned against him.
Importantly, he couldn’t be two dimensional in my book. He was said to be a
charming and popular man, particularly with his less educated students. He
successfully secured the future of the college by getting funding from the
government by providing vets for the cavalry regiments. He wasn’t all bad and I
had to ensure that his treatment of Christina was misguided and not simply
cruel. I would have been unjust had I made him a ‘straight forward baddie’.
But, according to Bracy, there was something very unethical going on
thanks to Coleman and his young assistant, William Sewell. Places on the
veterinary course in exchange for payment was one of the allegations. With such
stories abounding, I didn’t need to make one up.
When did you know you wanted to become
a writer?
Primary school, probably. By secondary school I was rewriting news
stories from the newspaper in my spare time. When I got a reporter’s job on my
first paper (rather than go to university) I was writing on my days off. Time I
got some help for this addiction? It’s the news story rather than writing that
hooks me. A literary agent once advised me to ‘quit focusing on an issue and get
on with the romance’ but I can’t separate them. They fuel each other. (I agree with you. Not all readers are
interested in the facts, but I am not one of them. Give me a well-researched story
and a healthy dose of romance and I am in heaven)
What advice would you give to new
authors to finish their books?
Borrow a news editor who shouts in your ear – ‘Where’s that bloody
story.’ That always helps productivity. Failing that – find out which is your most
awake time of day to write; some people are better in the morning, others at
night. Then devote some of that time to your writing. Never, ever wash the
kitchen floor in your peak time when you could be nurturing that manuscript.
Don’t iron any clothes and seriously consider whether or not skirting boards
look better with a light dusting of…well, dust. (Ha ha ha… so that’s where I’ve been going wrong this year! I decided
to do housework!)
Thank you for your time. Can you tell
us where we can find out more about you and buy your books?
Thank you for having me here, Vanessa, and good
luck with your own historical. Dare I ask which period you are working in?
Victorian Times. My novel is based on the lives of my great, great
grandparents – the first Beanland to arrive in Gibraltar in 1866!
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