A manuscript delivered and a baby, too

NATASHA Solomons had a deadline. It was Aug 2012. She had to finish her third novel before the birth of her first baby.

“It was touch-and-go,” she says. “The manuscript won, but only by a few days.”

Returning to the edits, after the birth of Luke Alfred, was both challenging and straightforward.

“Delving back in, and knowing there’s lot of work to be done, is hard when you have a tiny, demanding baby, and you’re feeling slightly crazy because of the hormones, but having less time to write focuses the mind wonderfully.

“My book editor, in London and in New York, wanted an extra chapter put in. When I was writing the rest of the novel, I felt as if I was writing a shadow novel at the same time — whole sections had to be culled — but writing the extra chapter, there could be no wastage, because there was no time. It made me incredibly focused.”

The Gallery of Vanished Husbands focuses on Juliette, a mother-of-two, whose feckless husband has left without a trace. The novel opens on her 30th birthday, as she goes out to buy a fridge. But she falls in love with a picture, and commissions a portrait of herself, instead.

This fuels Juliette’s lifelong passion for artists and art. As she grows in confidence, running a gallery and commissioning art, we learn more about her Jewish background. She’s a wonderful character; warm, brave and quirky, and this brilliant novel is infused with empathy and humour. I adored it.

“I wrote most of the book wondering what it was going to be like being a mother,” says Natasha. “I was exploring the anxieties around it, and when I became one, I discovered I felt differently about it than my character, Juliette. But that’s okay, because we’re different people, and will have different experiences of motherhood.”

The novel was sparked by Rosie Solomons, the grandmother of Natasha’s husband, David. In 1948, Rosie’s husband had disappeared, leaving her with two children and no money. She started a hair salon, but she was never divorced, so remained an ‘aguna’.

“I never met Rosie, but I was intrigued by this strong woman, who was determined that her children would have a good life.

“The book came from a combination of that story, and the real ‘gallery of vanished husbands’. It was a newspaper column published for decades in a Yiddish newspaper in New York, called the ‘Rogues Gallery of Vanished Husbands’. There were photos, and, underneath, snippets about the family.”

Natasha blended family history with her fictitious story. Juliette’s father tests eyesight, and believes that poor sight is a blessing. David’s grandfather, on his mother’s side, went to a famous market in Glasgow, found a case of second-hand spectacles, and made it into a thriving family business.

She has been inspired by family stories for her three books. She uses snippets to hold on to memory.

“The story of the painting of Juliette as a little girl comes from a family story, and, in previous novels, I’ve mentioned items of jewellery which are in the family. There are elements, but my books are, very much, works of fiction.”

Does she consider herself a Jewish writer? “I’m certainly a writer who is Jewish — my mother is Jewish, though my father isn’t — but I feel a fraud, as I don’t know the rules. At Jewish events, I usually find I’ve eaten the bread before the prayer has been said.

“Every time I sit down to write a book, I say ‘this one is not going to be about Jewish characters or themes.’ Then, I look back 100 pages later, and say ‘goodness, it always seeps in’.”

At 33, Natasha is a full-time writer. She’s never had to work at anything else. Was it always her ambition? “I always wanted to write stories, but I struggled when I was small, because I’m dyslexic. I always knew I’d be a writer, and what is lovely is that my grandfather believed in me. The great thing about grandparents is that they’re never in a rush.

“He always took me seriously, and when he died we found a letter in his will, written to me when I was 12, explaining why he was leaving me his writing desk. It’s an old-fashioned desk with a quill and an inkwell. It sits on my actual desk.”

Brought up in south London, Natasha studied English in Manchester, before going to Glasgow University to take a PhD in 18th century poetry. She got stuck on a tricky chapter, and took a break to write fiction. Three novels later, that PhD remains on hold.

“My career is an elaborate form of work-avoidance,” she says.

Mr Rosenblum’s List became an international bestseller. Chosen for the Richard and Judy Book club, it was shortlisted for the British Book Awards.

“It did well everywhere, except America. The publishers there dropped me. That was horrible. But Penguin, in America, loved my second, The Novel in the Viola, and it was in the New York Times list for 14 weeks.

“This was startling. It wasn’t meant to happen. It was good, old-fashioned book-selling. Booksellers pressing it into people’s hands, and readers telling one another about it.”

Natasha feels enormously privileged to be a writer. Better still, David writes from home, too. He’s a scriptwriter, whose first novel is due out soon. The couple collaborate on screenplays. They’ve written one since Luke was born. Will we soon see another novel? “I have an idea. I’m letting it percolate, at the moment. Meanwhile, I’m reading other fiction, which is such a delight. When I’m writing, I read only non-fiction, or fiction relating to the period. I’m now immersing myself in contemporary novels.”

The Gallery of Vanished Husbands is meticulously researched. The author’s passion for art shines through.

“I love art. I’m a member of a couple of galleries in London, and it was wonderful being able to embrace that through research. I spoke to artists to make sure my characters were rinsing their brushes in an appropriate substance, and putting acrylic onto a canvas correctly.”

First reviews for this third novel have been positive. That’s no surprise. The only bad review Natasha has received was from the Jewish Chronicle, for her second novel. What about those critics close to home? “My parents were, at first, anxious and bewildered by my writing. They wanted me to do something that put bread on the table, but now it’s going well, they are pleased. My mother is the best publicist any writer could have. More importantly, my father-in-law is quietly pleased with this novel. At my book launch, we took a moment to remember his mother, Rosie. Without her, there would have been no book,” she says.

The Gallery of Vanished Husbands

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Kindle, €11.10

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