Three of my favourite authors happen to be Oxford alumni. One is Philip Pullman, whose alternative Oxford in His Dark Materials fascinated me as a child (and as a teenager, when I reread it). Then there is Frances Hardinge, the Costa award-winning author of The Lie Tree, and many other gothic, eccentric children’s books besides. And last but not least, Natasha Pulley, a predominantly historical fantasy writer who I discovered later on. Studying English Literature at Exeter, Somerville, and New College respectively, their fictions are connected by elements which speak to my own taste in books – fantastical, whimsical, steampunk, all with deeper themes at the core. While the OxStu has conducted an interview with Hardinge, and Pullman’s reputation precedes him, I think it’s time someone talked about Pulley.
With her debut novel The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Pulley emerged onto the literary scene with a bang, winning a Betty Trask Award. Two years ago, gift card in hand, I picked the novel up at random from my local Waterstones, intrigued by the pocket watch and lime green octopus on its cover. From the opening pages – which, as I still recall, are about the fragrance of tea bags in a box of Lipton’s and a main character who sees the sound of stairs creaking in yellow (bear with me) – I knew this was the book for me.
The Watchmaker follows Nathaniel Steepleton, a telegraphist by day and pianist in his spare time, who has the unique ability to see the colours of sound. In a reimagined nineteenth-century London, he finds himself caught between two geniuses: a clairvoyant watchmaker named Keita Mori and an Oxford scientist called Grace Carrow. Let’s not forget an essential character, Katsu, the clockwork octopus. If this sounds baffling, then that’s exactly right; it’s gloriously wacky and inventive, but most of all extremely clever. Pulley plots to perfection, while excelling in witty dialogue and subtle character dynamics. This includes a barely there, barely acknowledged queer romance, which nevertheless manages to be so heart-wrenching.
The sequel is even better. The Lost Future of Pepperharrow is my favourite of the books I’ve read this year, and probably one of the best I’ve read, ever. No spoilers here.
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow is my favourite of the books I’ve read this year, and probably one of the best I’ve read, ever.
Pulley returns to the memorable characters of The Watchmaker’s universe in her short story “The Eel Singers” in The Haunting Season. This collection of ‘ghostly tales for long winter nights’, penned by like-minded writers of gothic reads (Frances Hardinge would not go amiss here, I think), makes for an atmospheric read at this time of year. It’s no surprise that Pulley’s contribution was my favourite, although it’s worth reading The Watchmaker first to fully appreciate it. In the sequel, The Winter Spirits, Pulley presents a new story, “The Salt Miracles”.
But it’s in long form that her talent flourishes. With each turn of phrase carefully constructed, her books are slow burns designed to be savoured. The Bedlam Stacks is a strong example of this. In this novel, which takes us from a crumbling estate in Cornwall to rural Peru, Pulley masters the art of showing rather than telling, leaving the reader to interpret what is left unsaid. An injured former naval officer, Merrick Tremayne, travels to Peru in order to secure quinine, the plant that treats malaria. There, he is greeted with magic and enigma: ancient forests, moving statues, and a priest who draws local superstitions.
Lastly, I come to The Kingdoms, a standalone which is as captivating as it is mind-bending. When I think of this book, I’m taken back to a seat in Westgate shopping centre at the end of last Hilary, a coffee in one hand, The Kingdoms in the other. I can even hear the music I was listening to, an instrumental playlist intermittently marked by the tapping of a typewriter. The fact that I can so vividly remember the circumstances in which I was reading marks this out as a particularly special book.
In this alternative history, England has been invaded and colonised by the French after a Napoleonic victory at Trafalgar. Joe Tournier is an amnesiac, trying to patch together the forgotten tatters of his own life. His only clue is a postcard from ninety years ago, with a picture of a lighthouse that has just recently been built. Someone has written to him: Come home, if you remember – M. Who is M? And who is the man he sees waiting for him in his dreams? Joe will have to journey across time to discover the truth. All along, Pulley deliberately withholds information; not unlike the amnesiac protagonist himself, we feel that there is something we ought to know, just out of reach.
It’s a joy to stumble upon a book for which you feel you are the perfect reader. If someone were to look inside my brain and design a book for me, the result could not be far from The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, or any book I’ve read by Natasha Pulley so far, for that matter. It might not be for everyone – this steampunk magical realism niche – but it’s definitely for me.
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