Snakes Through the Letterbox
November 2025 Bulletin
I do plan these posts in advance, but everything changed this month when a stranger phoned me to say that my mum (89) had fallen on the corner of her street. After eight hours waiting with her in A&E, we discovered that she had a broken wrist (not to mention a cut above her eye). I’m trying to think positively - she is bright, witty, and remarkably resilient for her age, and the time spent caring for her over the last few weeks has made me realise how much I enjoy her company. But I need to work ways of supporting her, both now and when the cast comes off. However, she still has the power to surprise me; during a conversation about the UK’s most dangerous animals, she confessed that her biggest fear is that someone will put a snake through her letterbox.
Which reminds me, I’m now at Book IX of Paradise Lost, where Satan decides to impersonate a snake: the ‘subtlest beast of all the field’.
When I left my old job, a colleague expressed surprise that I had written a book about an 18th-century actress and been shortlisted for a national biography prize. He said quite seriously: “Well, you will be able to live off your writing income now.” I didn’t know how to break it to him; my book about Peg Woffington (above) is still unpublished (I was shortlisted for the idea/pitch, not a finished book) and I still have to work four days a week to make ends meet. This is why I loved this piece from Ros Barber, where she explains author finances with complete transparency.
On the same theme, I’ve just finished Jane Friedman’s book The Business of Being a Writer which also provides lots of great advice. I have only two criticisms: The University of Chicago Press has done a poor job with the paper quality/design and the tax section only applies to U.S. citizens. But it’s totally worth it for Friedman’s wisdom - she also covers publishing on Substack in some detail. (You can get a flavour in her blog post Substack Is Both Great and Terrible for Authors.)
I had a great day on November 20th because I went to London for the launch of Charles Saumarez Smith’s excellent book, John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture, at the Wigmore Hall. It was a packed audience and a fantastic talk. In his lecture, Charles sought to answer the central connundrum of Vanbrugh’s life: namely, how did this young man, in a relatively short time, go from being a successful playwright to one of Britain’s greatest architects? Read the book to find out - and also have a look at the newly launched Vanbrugh300 website for more events.
After the talk I spent a wonderful afternoon in the National Gallery, where I was able to visit the Joseph Wright of Derby exhibition. It’s a small show of his moonlight paintings (and some engravings), yet if offers a rare chance to see two of his greatest works hung side-by-side. These are An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768) and A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery in which a Lamp is put in the Place of the Sun (exhibited 1766). It’s remarkable what insights this display throws up; I was particularly drawn to his inclusion of one figure in each composition who is shown deep in thought.
Somehow I managed to avoid spending a small fortune in the National Gallery shop on art materials (I did buy two watercolour brushes and persuaded a stranger to purchase a water pen). Afterwards, I joined my husband at a performance of Handel’s Partenope at English National Opera. It was a long day but one full of 18th-century delights.
Finally, my cat has expensive tastes. Over the years I’ve bought countless bowls for Rusty - even a water fountain - but this month I discovered that he will only drink from a Champagne glass.
Meet my furry editoral assistant »
What I’m looking forward to soon … The Blueprints of Power exhibition at Blenheim Palace (14th Feb 2026 - April 10th 2026). It promises to shine a light on Sir John Vanbrugh’s brilliant mind, his rivalries and ambitions and take visitors on an immersive visual experience through his early life and theatrics as playwright all the way to his high-stakes partnership with Sarah Churchill, first Duchess of Marlborough. As it opens on Valentine’s Day, I’ve already given my husband some pretty heavy hints.
I'm so sorry to hear about your Mum, Annette. There are just too many stories around at the moment about the effects of accidents and illness especially among elderly people being exacerbated by the long waiting times in A&E. I hope yoour Mum is more comfortable now. Thanks for the update on Peg Woffington's status – I was just wondering the other day how you were getting on with finding a publisher. Hope you have a breakthrough on that front soon. It sounds like such a worthwhile book that should surely have a substantial audience.
Hello Annette, talking of Peg Woffington, guess you've already read 'A Notable Woman: The Romantic Journals of Jean Lucey Pratt' which includes her trials as an author working on a book about Peg Woffington in the 1950s or 1960s, I think it was?