In September I joined a large and appreciative audience at Ipswich Library for an author talk with Salley Vickers. It was part of Ipswich Library’s centenary celebrations and Salley was in conversation with Lisa Brennan, Suffolk Libraries Reader Development Librarian. They discussed Salley’s career and her books, in particular The Librarian, published in 2018.
Salley was born in Liverpool to politically committed parents. Her mother was a social worker and her father a trade unionist. The unusual spelling of her name derives from her father’s interest in Irish politics. 'Salley' is spelled with an 'e' because it is the Irish for 'willow', as in the W. B. Yeats poem, ‘Down by the Salley Gardens’, a favourite of her parents. She studied English literature at Cambridge and taught at Oxford, Stanford and the Open University, before later retraining as a Jungian psychoanalyst. Salley’s debut novel, Miss Garnet’s Angel, was an instant success when it was published in 2000. She has gone on to write 11 novels and 2 books of short stories.
There were plenty of books in her childhood home, but not works of fiction. The world of fiction was introduced by her local librarian, who always had a new title waiting for her. The main character in The Librarian is based on this woman, a tribute to and a celebration of the person who opened her eyes to literature.
The book is set in 1958 when newly trained Sylvia Blackwell takes a job as children's librarian in the rundown library of a small town. Sylvia rents a cottage from Mrs Bird, and her life becomes entwined with that of the Bird family, and with those of her neighbours in the village. She’s involved with the children, in particular clever Sam and shy, awkward Lizzie. She meets and falls in love with the local doctor, who is married with a wayward daughter called Marigold.
We learn a great deal about the workings of the library, and of how Sylvia draws the local children into reading her own childhood favourites. Her mission is to inspire the children to read. But her love affair with the local married GP, and her befriending of particular children, causes controversy, putting in jeopardy both her own job and the library itself, with dramatic consequences.
During the discussion, Salley talked about her writing process. She describes herself as an intuitive writer, allowing the characters to lead the story. There is no initial plan. The characters emerge first and are central to the narrative. She also tries not to over describe, leaving much to the reader’s imagination. She considers that books take on a new life when they are read, each reader bringing their own consciousness to the book.
One of the main themes of The Librarian is the delight that comes from stories and the importance of introducing children to the joy of books. It was a fitting story to celebrate Ipswich Library. Salley is a great supporter of libraries and also of independent bookshops. So it was appropriate that Dial Lane, Ipswich’s independent bookshop, was on hand with an array of Salley’s books for us to sample. The evening was a delight, a celebration of reading, libraries and books.
Dymphna Crowe
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