When is the book set?
I get quite a few people who’ve read the book asking about this, and I’ve realised it’s quite a Marmite-y aspect of the story: you either love the ambiguity, or hate it. So for those who would like to know, the short answer is that the book is pretty much set in the 1970s, but because it’s a very remote town it feels like the 1950s. In other words, it’s borrowed from my childhood on the Isle of Wight. Growing up in Cowes, you often felt that nothing had changed for hundreds of years. We didn’t have high-street chain stores, everything was independently owned. There was still half-day closing. Tall ships (like the Storm) still came to visit, and when they did, it would be something that people talked about in the high street: a bit of an event.
I think one of the things that kick-started Verity, was the fact that my husband and I moved to this remote part of Suffolk. You can see from this picture of nearby Walberswick that we are still very ‘lost in time’ around here and it reminded me of my childhood. I think also, moving to a new area and having to make friends and start over again, felt a little bit like being back at school: it reminded me of your first day at term, when you’re stood in the hallway with your timetable and you don’t have a clue where to go, and everyone else looks filled with confidence.
