With due respect to the Bridgerton miniseries, most people of African descent in Regency and Victorian Britain did not live among the upper classes. Hester Reeves, the heroine of Lianne Dillsworth’s second novel, House of Shades, is far more typical in her background. A “doctress” (healer, because in 1833 a woman could not earn a medical degree), Hester has spent most of her career working with streetwalkers among the stews of London, but at the beginning of the novel, a recommendation from her pastor has landed her what looks like a great job: care for an elderly industrialist at his London mansion for four weeks, and she will earn ten pounds, which at that time is enough to support herself, her husband, their as yet unborn baby, and her younger sister in relative comfort outside the city. Lianne Dillsworth agreed to an interview about both this novel and its predecessor, so read on to find out more.
House of Shades is your second novel. Could you give us a brief introduction to your first, Theatre of Marvels?
Happy to! Theatre of Marvels tells the story of Zillah, a Black British woman living in London in the 1840s. Zillah plays the role of an African warrior on stage, but as the novel opens she begins to question the way she earns her living, and when another woman from the show goes missing, she risks it all to find her. It has elements of mystery and romance, but at its heart it’s about a woman coming to terms with her identity at a time when Blackness was exoticized and women from the lower classes had to fight to survive.
What sparked the idea for this second novel?
I’ve always loved visiting stately homes, and I was generating ideas at a time when there was a lot of coverage in the newspapers about how our history and buildings are contextualized. This coincided with a drip feed of stories relating to reparations and restorative justice. It’s not a topic that has traditionally been part of the national conversation in Britain, and it was something I wanted to explore.
Hester Reeves is your central character. Does she have a historical precedent?
Hester and her story are wholly fictional, but it’s important to me that the characters I create have a sense of truth at their core. I borrowed her occupation from a woman named Mary Seacole, who styled herself as a doctress and came to London from Jamaica. Mary Seacole rose to prominence in the 1850s when she supported British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War. She has been voted the greatest Black Briton and published an autobiography, which helped me develop Hester’s voice.
How would you describe Hester’s personality and where is she in her life when the novel begins?
Hester is a caring person who will do anything to protect her family, especially her wayward sister Willa. She’s also practical—her role as a doctress to the street walkers of Kings Cross has exposed her to the harsher side of life. The novel starts at a moment when Hester has decided to take action to prevent her fears for her sister from being realized. Like a lot of women who put the needs of others above her own, she takes on a great deal of responsibility, and this often leaves her feeling torn as she struggles to do the right thing. It’s been wonderful to hear early readers say she’s a character you want to root for.
Hester’s sister, Willa—and especially the deathbed promise Hester made to her mother—play an important motivating role in the story. What can you tell us about Willa’s character?
Willa is one of my favorite characters in the novel. She’s a bit selfish, she makes some bad decisions, but at the same time she’s a young woman grieving the death of her mother. This makes her vulnerable to a predatory man like Rowland Cherville, the son of Hester’s new employer. Willa wants to prove she can take care of herself, but she needs her big sister more than she’s willing to admit and this brings out all Hester’s caregiving instincts.
Hester is approaching Tall Trees, the main location of the novel, as the story begins. How does it strike her?
Hester has an immediate sense of foreboding as she approaches Tall Trees, and this feeling only grows as she comes to know the house and its owner, Gervaise Cherville. I wanted Tall Trees to be a character in its own right—so many Victorian novels have a big house at their center, and I wanted to offer a fresh perspective on the sort of secrets it might hold.
What does she encounter once she enters the house?
Inside Tall Trees, Hester feels a weight she can’t explain. She also has to contend with Margaret, the housekeeper, who takes an instant dislike to her. Jenny, the kitchen maid, is her only ally.
I’ll leave you to decide how much to reveal, but please do introduce us to her employer, Gervaise Cherville.
Gervaise Cherville, the owner of Tall Trees, is an unwell man who feels the hand of death upon him. He plans to live out his days in his country house, but there’s one thing he must do first—and this is where Hester comes in. Gervaise has an important task he wants Hester to do for him, and he’s prepared to pay handsomely for it. Hester’s approach to this task is the main focus of the novel, but Gervaise is on a journey of his own.
Are you already working on another novel?
I always have a couple of ideas rattling around, and right now I’m deciding which to pursue. I’m dipping into different research sources, mapping out possible plot points, and having a lot of fun with it. The latter stages before a novel comes out require a lot of close work and discipline as you check for inconsistencies or typos. The beginning part feels much freer, so I’m particularly enjoying the change of pace before I have to knuckle down again.
Thank you so much for answering my questions!
Lianne Dillsworth, the author of Theatre of Marvels and House of Shades, holds an MA in Victorian studies, and her love for the period shines through her writing. She currently lives and works in London.
Image: Photograph of Mary Seacole (1873), public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
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