Meet Guy Fraser Sampson

Guy Fraser Sampson is a London based an author and lecturer, and has published work on so many different subjects that he will be appearing twice during the Book Festival.

Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for the Felixstowe Book Festival.

First off, please could you introduce yourself to the audience in your own words…

I sometimes think that I am several different people inhabiting the same body. I am a writer, novelist, lecturer, public speaker, investment manager. I have also been a commercial lawyer and an investment banker. I am a Londoner born and bred, though I have also lived in other parts of the world such as Abu Dhabi and Paris, as well as spending a lot of time in San Francisco. For other Londoners out there, I live in Belsize Park and my nearest tube station is Swiss Cottage. I teach at Cass Business School in the City of London but am also Chief Investment Officer with a family office in Mayfair. I have two grown-up sons, one of whom recently did a tour in Afghanistan as a platoon commander with the Welsh Guards.

How do you find time for all of your work from economics to lecturing, history, novel and detective fiction writing? What do you do to relax?

I think it helps that I am a chronic insomniac, which explains why much of my email correspondence is timed at about 0400 local time. Seriously, though, it's actually a very boring matter of planning one's time in advance and then being very disciplined about working to deadlines. Like most writers, I read a huge amount, helped by the fact that I do not have television. I also enjoy listening to music. There comes a time in every man's life when he buys a Mercedes. I haven't got there yet, but I do find myself listening increasingly to Schubert lieder and string quartets, which is probably the musical equivalent. I also retain an enormous enthusiasm for Wagner, if only to annoy the hell out of the neighbours.

The first event you do will be about the sequels you wrote to the ‘Mapp and Lucia’ books written by EF Benson in the 1920’s.
Where did you get the idea of writing these titles?

I have always been a huge fan of the originals, which I discovered when Radio 4 did "Queen Lucia" as a Book at Bedtime when I was ten. As I grew up in a house without television I haunted the local library and soon found and went through the lot. I later discovered, albeit by accident, Tom Holt's books which are of course excellent. Incidentally, Tom has been hugely supportive of my own efforts and I would like to thank him publicly for that, as well as Gyles Brandreth and Alexander McCall-Smith.

It was always my dream to continue the series, but I was realistic enough to know that it would be very difficult to find anyone willing to publish them, even after the television series. The names of all the publishers and agents who rejected "Major Benjy" would make a very long list (almost as long as those who have rejected my narrative history of the Plantagenets!). Again, I would like to thank first Jeremy Thompson at Troubador and later Lorne Forsythe and Olivia Bayes at Elliott & Thompson for having the vision and the courage to support me in my endeavours.

Your second talk will be around your recent book ‘The mess we’re in: why politicians can’t get us out of this mess’. Tell us a bit about this book and what the audience can expect from your talk.

Everyone knows instinctively that things are falling apart around us, no matter how vehemently politicians may deny this, but do not really understand how or why. "The Mess We're In" aims at two objectives. First, to offer an alternative, non-etsablishment view of what has gone wrong. Second, to make this both intelligible and interesting for the general reader. Gratifyingly, the unsolicited feedback which I have received suggests that hopefully I have succeeded. I think it will resonate particularly with those "of a certain age" (45+) who are starting to realise with horror that the whole concept of a financially comfortable retirement can be consigned to the rubbish bin.

How different is writing fiction and detective fiction to writing about the economy and politics?

Very different, which helps actually, as I usually have at least two books on the go at any one time. I find it relatively easy to switch from fiction to non-fiction, even within the course of the same day.

Non-fiction is actually easier in the sense that you should know what is going into each chapter before you write it, which also means that you do not have to start at the beginning and work your way through if you don't want to, but can build the book up in modular fashion. Of course, there is the question of all the research which has to come first, but I do think that the actual writing process is much easier, at least for me (all writers are different).

With fiction you have a rough idea of how you want the plot to work out but really no more than that. For me it works best when the characters take over inside your head and start almost writing the book themselves. This can take you to some very surprising places but is enormous fun. With "Major Benjy" I started with the first scene but nothing else, and the story (and the ending) changed at least twice as I was writing it. With "Lucia on Holiday" I really had nothing more than the idea of moving the characters away from Tilling, and the location was inspired by a real life hotel in which I was lucky enough to stay. Again, various plot elements changed or vanished altogether. With "Au Reservoir", my current venture, I have the ending and an idea for the beginning, but nothing in the middle.

You write detective fiction under a pseudonym, why do you keep this identity a secret? Can we have a clue?

I now realise that writing in lots of different genres confuses people, many of whom want to put things and individuals into nice neat pigeon holes. For example, I write about history, economic history, hard core finance (for professionals), soft core finance (for the general reader), and cricket. I also write the Mapp and Lucia books, and have recently published a book on cricket ("Cricket at the Crossroads") albeit this is about class and colour prejudice as much as it is about cricket. Detective fiction would almost certainly be at least one genre too far! In fact, in hindsight I wish I had written the Mapp and Lucia books under a pseudonym - perhaps Rudolf da Vinci ...?
The detective book is not yet finished, but will be published by Elliott & Thompson in 2014. It is intended to be the first of a series based in and around Hampstead - (so that's your clue!).

What attracted you to the Felixstowe book festival?

I was introduced to Meg by my good friend Elaine of Random Jottings fame. She knew that I had spoken at quite a few festivals. I was really attracted by the idea of being part of getting something new off the ground.

What are you looking forward to doing in Felixstowe aside from appearing at the festival?

I have never been to Felixstowe before and so am really looking forward to exploring. It is also always a great opportunity to meet and talk with other authors. I am particularly looking forward to the book bloggers' session, since both Elaine and Simon are good friends.

Guy will be discussing his 'Mapp and Lucia' books between 11 - 12pm, and 'The mess we're in' between 1.30 - 2.30pm on Saturday 15th June. Both events will take place at The Orwell hotel.

Tickets can be purchased from the booking website.