Tracy Chevalier or the dishes?

Just as I was approaching the washing up, a friend rang to say she had a spare ticket for a talk by Tracy Chevalier promoting her new book Burning Bright, an historical novel about William Blake.

Not being the sort to turn my nose up at a free ticket (the intended attendee had cancelled at the last minute) I ran from the house (and my responsibilities) to see what Tracy had to say. I have to confess at this point that I didn't know who she was, other than a writer. It turns out that she is most famous for Girl with a Pearl Earring. I say most famous, as that's the one I had heard of because of the publicity for the film although I've not actually seen the movie or read the book.

The talk was at the Southbank Centre, and it's always a pleasure to head over to the Southbank, crossing the bridge from Embankment tube station, humming Waterloo Sunset as you go. To one side you have the London Eye, to the other you can see The City, with St Paul's Cathedral standing to the fore; old London standing proudly against the modern structures.

Tracy said that she now sees herself as half American and half English as she has lived 22 years of her life in America, and has now lived 22 years in England accounting for her full 44 years. Frankly she seemed all American to me. It was strange to hear her reading from her new book, which is set in 18th century London, in a very pronounced American accent. She said that she would not embarrass either us or herself by attempting the Dorset or London accents that the characters should have. Her delivery was pleasant anyhow.

After the reading she was in conversation with John Mullan, who is the chair of the Guardian's book club. He kept the chat going well, though I had the impression that Tracy could probably have given a straight talk quite comfortably as she was fluent and confident with an audience. She then fielded a small selection of questions from the crowd as the reading and talk had taken a little longer than expected.

Historical novels that use real people in an imaginary way are not really to my taste, so I didn't buy a copy of the book. I see it as a hijacking of the subject though, realistically speaking, biography is much the same. Ultimately, I prefer the supposed accountability of biography to the flexibility of literary docu-drama.

Perhaps it's difficult to judge a written style from a reading, but the writing was far more character based and descriptive than I like in my books. I'm far keener on a strong story line - though only having heard snippets, it's impossible to really appreciate the strength of the narrative.

It was an enjoyable talk and, whilst I'm not in a hurry to read one of Tracy's books, I did think she was well worth listening to and down to earth about her writing, without making it mundane. A pleasant evening, well spent.