Why I wrote ‘The People at Number 9’ by Felicity Everett

Story HQ
Story HQ
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read
‘The People at Number 9’ by Felicity Everett

From being very small, I have always cultivated the ‘unavailable friend’. In Primary school it was Jane Braidwood, for love of whom I broke in two every crayon I owned and gave her the bigger piece. She repaid me by inviting me to tea, along with two other friends, and then shutting me out of her bedroom while they all sat on her bed, making up the rules of a ‘club’ I wasn’t allowed to join. Did I love her any less? No. I adored her. I was only saved from myself when she left my school, aged seven, to go to a smarter one.

For me, Lou and Gavin are the grown-up version of Jane Braidwood and Sara’s crush on them and subsequent bad behaviour stem from the same slavish desire to be in with the in-crowd. But while Jane Braidwood was just an ordinary little girl, Lou and Gav are artists and that gives them an extra allure. Sara isn’t sure whether their art is any good — she doesn’t trust herself to judge it, but she’s dazzled by it and their example inspires her to make art of her own.

The second theme I wanted to explore in the book was whether artists get to play by a different set of rules to everyone else and if they do, whether that is justified. The demands the people at number 9 make on their neighbours are truly outrageous, yet even at the end of the book, looking back on the carnage they have caused, Sara has not quite resolved this one. And nor have I.

By Felicity Everett @Ittymay.

‘The People at Number 9’ is Out Today.

)
Story HQ

Story HQ

One place, many stories. A division of @HarperCollinsUK. Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/hqstories.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade