In the first of a series of articles about authors appearing at Marlborough LitFest who have a strong local connection, Marlborough.news has been speaking to the crime and historical fiction author Kate Webb.
Kate has published three crime novels set in Wiltshire with a fourth due to be published next year. Her latest novel, Hollow Grave, begins in Avebury with most of the action taking place in Marlborough, Savernake Forest and the surrounding area. Kate grew up not far away in Over Wallop and she explained that the many childhood visits to Avebury helped spark her interest in history and the ancient landscape of Wiltshire.
The Wiltshire landscape she feels is quite unique. “There are not many places that feel wild and untouched in the south of England. Salisbury Plain feels wild and untouched and places such as the West Kennet Longbarrow and Silbury Hill have a veil of mystery which has always interested me. The best crime fiction is tied to a landscape and feeds into the atmosphere of the stories.”
The main character in the Hollow Grave and the two previous novels is DI Lockyer, a cold case detective. He is, says Kate, a slight outsider. “It’s great for a character to have their own challenges to deal with. He is not cynical but an empathetic detective from farming stock. I also wanted to tie what’s happening in the case to the personal lives of the characters.” Lockyer’s assistant, Broad, also has her own personal problems to deal with.
As well as a strong sense of place the Hollow Grave deals with secrets being uncovered, family tragedies and how the outcomes of these tragedies last through generations. Kate also focuses on guilt and how we deal with it.
Many of these themes can also be found in Kate’s eight historical novels where she writes under Katherine Webb rather than Kate. As a historian (she studied history at Durham University) she enjoys the research involved in creating a historical novel. Her best-selling debut novel, The Legacy, was winner of the Channel 4 TV Book Club Summer Read 2010 and it was shortlisted for the Galaxy British Book Awards New Writer of the Year 2010.
However, Kate also loves crime fiction. “It’s tremendous fun to write but I find it hard to plan in advance. With crime novels the dénouement has to be decided upon before starting the novel.”
To find out more you can attend Kate’s talk at Marlborough LitFest. She will be appearing at Marlborough LitFest on Sunday 28th September at 2.30pm in St Peter’s Church. Buy your tickets here.
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