Today I went to the Windsor Hotel in the Melbourne CBD for an event staged by Sisters In Crime, that organisation celebrating women crime writers. I’ve been a member for years, but rarely get to attend any of their events or meetings, which tend to be on Thursday or Friday, when I have to look after my mother. However, on Sundays my brother gives me a break, taking over looking after Mum, and the event, celebrating the life and times of Melbourne crime writer Kerry Greenwood, who passed away a few months ago, alas, was two hours long, right in the middle of my time off, so I went, giving myself the ticket as a birthday present.
It was a high tea, for which the Windsor is famous. Kerry Greenwood wrote the place into her Phryne Fisher fiction, so it was the perfect place to celebrate her. I found myself wishing they had done it while she was alive to enjoy it.
I wore a dress I bought for a wedding a few years ago, but found most people - the women, anyway - were in costume, 1920s style. A nice touch, I thought.
The afternoon tea was nice, but there were also a couple of panels going on. One was especially interesting because it was about how they made the Phryne Fisher TV series, including the writing and the set design. The writer of the series, Elizabeth Coleman, told us that they were pressured to have a romance between Phryne and the policeman Jack Robinson who, in the novels, was happily married and plain(it was one of the things that made him a success as a policeman- the crooks never noticed him till it was too late!). Of the actor who played Jack in the show it is often said, “He can put his shoes under my bed any time!” A nice-looking man indeed.
Another thing I found fascinating was that we heard from Kerry’s first publisher, who told us the story from her viewpoint. Kerry often told us how she didn’t sell her original book, but they suggested she write a crime novel instead. The publisher said she wanted to buy the first novel, which was set in England in the 18th century, about a female highwayman, but was told that the theme was just not right for them. So, instead, she suggested taking the character and transferring her to Melbourne in the 1920s.
Imagine if they had bought the original novel. It might have done well enough, but it just wouldn’t have made the first of a series. Maybe it’s a good thing!
There was a raffle at the end. I didn’t win, but it’s fair enough, as I have read most of her books. The woman who won first prize in the books also won the big prize of having her name put into the last Phryne Fisher novel, which is coming out in November. I bought some raffle tickets for the books, but the winner of third prize was the person who bought the very next ticket after me!
As usual, I ended up buying some e books mentioned by the panels. I just couldn’t resist.
It was a great afternoon. I’m very glad I went.