Literal crime wave hits Castlepollard
Tullynally Castle has a vibe. It gives off big style Gothic energy. It’s a suitable setting for an Agatha Christie novel.
As such it should be no surprise that a crime novelist lives there. Even better, one that writes historical fiction. Well not exclusively historic fiction, but mostly so.
Andrew Hughes is the crime writer who moved to Tullynally Castle, Castlepollard last year.
His latest novel Emma, Disappeared saw the author host a book launch party for the paperback edition at the studio of artist Bertille de Lestrade earlier this year: “The paperback edition came out in April, so we decided to have a bit of a party, a bit of an excuse to get my name known in my new home town,” he told the Examiner.
Since the Studio Bleu shindig the book has been longlisted for a UK Crime Writers Association Dagger Award. Described as “a gripping twist-filled thriller”, this clever mystery novel has been on the receiving end of some positive reviews.
“I’m going over to London this month for the award ceremony,” Andrew said of the nomination.
How he ended up a resident of Tullynally Castle is a story in itself: “As well as an author, I’m an archivist. Almost three years ago the county archivist for Westmeath and Longford councils asked me to survey the Pakenham Papers stored here in the house.
“I came down here for a month. The Pakenham family very kindly let me live in one of the flats here in the courtyard,” he recalled.
In chapter two, our protagonist returns: “I was in Dublin for 20 odd years. The flat I lived in was sold, so I needed to find a place. I knew there were flats here, and was familiar with the community. I just asked Eliza if there was anything available here in Tullynally. She said yes, so now I’m living over the archway.”
The Gothic-style building has been home to the Pakenham family for 350 years. It’s surrounded by 26 acres of parkland and gardens, including woodland, walled gardens and ornamental lakes.
“It’s a fantastic place to write. It’s full of inspiration,” Andrew says, “There’s a great literary tradition here with the Pakenhams, and also the people who have come to stay and who’ve lived in the house and visited the Pakenhams.”
His assignment three years ago gave him a flavour of the heritage of the place: “I was only here for a month, so I didn’t get deeply involved in the papers. It was mostly the estate maps and the papers of Frank Pakenham, the previous Earl, Thomas’s father. You get to know the family through the papers and the history of the place.
“I also got to know the family just by being here. They’re very welcoming, particularly Valerie, she was wonderful while I was here and frequently invited me to lunch or to a dinner party,” he says of the late chatelaine of Tullynally Castle.
Andrew’s debut novel, The Convictions of John Delahunt, was a portrait of a true-life murderer and Dublin Castle informer, based on events that gripped Victorian Ireland. His second, The Coroner’s Daughter, was about a young lady sleuth in 1816 Dublin.
His current book Emma, Disappeared is a contemporary story. All his stories display an attention to detail that nods towards his archivist training.
Given that background, it’s no shock his first forays into fiction were period pieces: “I was so immersed in historical papers and archives before I became a writer that I never really considered historical fiction a separate genre. It was never unusual or difficult to write, it felt very natural.
“When I shifted to writing contemporary books, it didn’t seem like much of a leap. They are just stories. One happened to be told in the past, one happens to be told in the present. I found the amount of research needed to be almost similar.”
That aspect of his job is one he appears to enjoy: “With historic fiction, you need to devote an amount of time to research. It’s just fact checking things, so you’re not putting in anything anachronistic. You make sure the technology is right for whatever you’re doing. Observing customs and speech patterns or whatever – but if you’re writing a modern crime book you have to research how mobile phones work, how police procedures work.
“There’s always fact checking when you’re writing a novel, it doesn’t really matter whether it was historical or contemporary.”
His journey to London for the Crime Writers Association Dagger Award will be a welcome break from a hefty workload: “I have two novels on the go. One is another contemporary crime novel. It’s a follow-up to Emma, Disappeared.
“I’m also working on a novel that I had written several years ago, but never came out. I’ve been looking at it again and editing it. It’s another historical novel, about a hang-woman in Roscommon. She was called Lady Betty.
“There’s a lot of myths around her and I’ve taken her story and I’m telling it from her point of view. That’s nearly done, while the contemporary crime one will hopefully be finished later in the year.”
Positive critical reviews, award nominations and two books in the pipeline indicate that Andrew is making a good fist of his chosen occupation: “It’s not easy to make a career out of being a writer, that’s definitely true, but there are perks. You’re your own boss, there is the enjoyment of working on something creative. You have to take the rough with the smooth.
“There is lots of support in terms of grants and residencies and things like that, but it’s difficult to break through. It’s difficult to find an agent, then difficult to get a book deal, but there’s a lot of pleasure involved as well, a lot of satisfaction.
“It’s like anything you’re drawn to. You have to work at it and see if you can forge a path, but I’ve been lucky. I found this place which is within my means and which is a wonderful place to work. The books are coming out, I’ve got two on the go, so I’m feeling okay.”
If you find yourself in Castlepollard and would like to read an Andrew Hughes novel, you can pick one up in Studio Bleu.