Masterworks: The Watcher on the Wall - Gareth Williams - Interview

  Today is the penultimate in a series on nine interviews I'm sharing on the Crowvus Book Blog. These are from the authors of the short stories included in the Masterworks anthology by the Historical Writers Forum. We're running through chronologically, some are video interviews, others are written.

Here is the fantastic Gareth Williams, sharing a little insight into his thought-provoking short story The Watcher on the Wall, writing across centuries, and the unifying power of art.

First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you write (besides Masterworks!), and what inspired you to begin writing.

I broke my back in three places in a climbing accident and this made me evaluate my priorities. Having retired from a career in education, I now write historical fiction while living on the Isle of Skye. I am inspired by characters famous or obscure, and times when major changes are afoot. My (so far) trilogy The Richard Davey Chronicles is set from 1815 and comprises Needing Napoleon, Serving Shaka and Rescuing Richard. I like immersing readers in the past. It is a form of time travel (of which there is a bit in Needing Napoleon) … more about that later!

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Introduce us to your chosen artwork

The Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare is the only portrait we have that was probably painted from life. It was painted by John Taylor but bears the name of a famous owner, the 1st Duke of Chandos, James Brydges. It was the very first painting acquired by the nascent National Portrait Gallery in London when it was established in 1856.

In the portrait, Shakespeare wears an enigmatic expression, compelling me to wonder what he is thinking, what brilliance is sparking in that creative mind?

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In the story, you differentiate between William Shakespeare as the sitter and William Shakespeare as the work of art. What was your inspiration for this choice?

My short story is about the portrait rather than the man who sat for the artist. I know that sounds mad! But works of art are interpreted by everyone who regards them. My premise for The Watcher on the Wall is that this might be a reciprocal process. That the portrait evolves through its interactions with those who study it, becoming someone quite different.

I wanted a mechanism to imagine how Shakespeare might react and evolve were he to ‘live’ through the centuries that separate us from him. But I also wanted to capture a hint of what his works have meant to a variety of people long after his demise. His works guarantee him a type of immortality, as does a portrait.

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The Watcher on the Wall follows people through their lives. What was the hardest thing about writing across generations?

Writing a short story that spans the two centuries since the National Portrait Gallery acquired the Chandos portrait of Shakespeare gave me a framework to interrogate ideas of life and death, literature and how it is coopted by its consumers (us).

The challenge was to convey a sense of period and reveal the essence of a character without overloading the story with background and explanations. By framing everything within the gallery, I avoided the need for too much period detail, using the visitors to the gallery to communicate the passage of time instead. I think the hardest thing in spanning generations is getting inside the head of people whose contexts are very different, but in a sense, this was the whole point of my short story. 

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Your story includes a number of real people and events. Who was your favourite one to research? Why?

I enjoyed researching Thomas Carlyle because he suited my purposes as both a founder of the National Portrait Gallery and an influential historian who was referred to by Emerson as a ‘secular prophet’. Born into very modest circumstances, he rose through his intelligence to become one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. For all that, many of his attitudes are unpalatable to a modern audience, and I wanted to capture a sense that he was falling out of step with the direction of society’s travel. Whether I achieved this is for the reader to judge.

I also enjoyed including a vignette of the late queen because her portrait by Annigoni was the reason I first visited the National Portrait Gallery, and her death marked the end of a defining constant in my life.    

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Your story is written from the point of view of the painting. What did you find were the biggest pros and cons for this?

I had thought long and hard about this approach before committing to it. In a sense, I embraced the limitations it created. Constrained inside a gallery, only able to ‘see’ those who stand and stare or pass by, I was able to edit the crowds of visitors. Only those who spend time with the painting are worthy of notice in a short story about the interaction between portrait and viewer.

There were lots of fascinating events between 1856 and the present that I would have enjoyed writing about but most were inaccessible unless they could somehow ‘happen’ in sight of Shakespeare’s portrait. However, world wars and the suffrage movement are examples of major turning points in history that did touch the National Portrait Gallery, so I was not short of potential material!

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 Have you got a favourite line from The Watcher on the Wall of which you felt particularly proud?

You raise your hand. Half a wave. What will you be? I cannot sort it from the turmoil of your thoughts. You do not know yet. I envy you as you walk away.

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What do you hope readers will take away from your story?

I hope readers will value the universal humanity that unites the characters who populate my story. That they will think about the power of art and literature to inspire and console, excite, and entertain. That they will embrace the notion that we are (almost) all a product of our time and forgive our forebears some of their perceived flaws, just as we might wish to be judged with understanding and compassion.  

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If time travel were possible (perhaps it’s only a matter of time!) would you choose to go back to any of the years in this story, or another year? Why?

So, we come back to time travel! I am a bit obsessed about Napoleon and would love the opportunity to talk with him on the eve of Waterloo, just as my main character Richard Davey manages in Needing Napoleon. That would make my answer 1815 but then I think about the state of dentistry at that time and change my mind.

As a big Beatles fan, 1967 is pretty tempting. I was born in 1964 but at three, the impact of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band escaped me! The sense of change and optimism of that decade when the young were finally having their say is hard to resist (I would make sure to pack my rose-tinted spectacles!).

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What’s next for your writing? Any projects in the pipeline?

I am on the final edit of a fictional biography entitled Captain Liar & the Forgotten Flag – the Life and Death of William Augustus Bowles.

William was born as the American colonies were agitating for independence. He was brought up in Maryland as a loyal monarchist and ran away to join the King’s army at fifteen. His life is a series of improbable (but true) adventures that see him elected Director General of the Creek nation, declare war on the Spanish empire and die on hunger strike in the cell of Havana’s Morro fortress at the age of forty-two.

His life is a struggle to find a place where he belongs as the certainties of his upbringing unravel around him.

You can find The Watcher on the Wall in the Masterworks anthology, which is available on #KindleUnlimited HERE!

Now, let's meet the author!

I studied History and Law at Queens’ College, Cambridge before briefly working in banking and recruitment. I eventually settled on a very happy career in teaching.

I taught history at Elizabeth College, Guernsey and was then head of department at The School of St Helen & St Katharine, Abingdon. Finally, I was Director of Sixth Form at St Mary’s, Ascot.

I retired to the Isle of Skye where I am climbing all the Scottish mountains over 3000 feet. In winter, I try to ski as much as possible, both backcountry and downhill.

My first novel, Needing Napoleon, was published in November 2021. My main character is instrumental in helping Napoleon rebound after his defeat at Waterloo, ultimately helping him escape from St Helena for the shores of Africa. The sequel, Serving Shaka, came out in March 2022. In this book, Napoleon encounters the growing might of the Zulu nation and has to accommodate himself to a very different reality. I have completed the third instalment of The Richard Davey Chronicles, which is titled Rescuing Richard. This should be released in spring 2023.

I am working on a standalone historical adventure set during and immediately after the American War of Independence. I am also pondering the ending of a ghost story that weaves together three timelines that converge on Hadrian’s Wall.

I have written short stories on a variety of subjects. Most recently, I wrote a short story featuring a nineteenth century photographer. This was part of a collaborative project with a friend who has built a wet-plate collodion camera.

I give talks in my local area and beyond as well as participating in an online history writers’ group. I am chairperson of The Skye Reading Room, a local organisation for both readers and writers. I am a member of the Scottish Writers’ Association and the Historical Novel Society. I have applied to the Scottish Book Trust to join their Live Literature scheme and will be attending the Scottish Writers’ Association Conference 2023 near Glasgow in March.