Jane Johnson's Secrets of the Bees is a stunning and evocative novel set on a gorgeous Cornish estate packed with heart, relationships and mysteries from the past. 

Ezra Curnow is certainly an unforgettable protagonist, who has lived in a little cottage on the Trengrose estate all his life, like his father and his grandfather before him. The mistress of the estate, Eliza, dies without leaving a will and Ezra is determined to save his beloved home from London financiers who are enticed by the charm and opportunity. 

Talking about her inspiration for this book, Jane says: This is a book I could never have written without being raised and living in Cornwall for most of my life. I’ve seen the county evolve, and change, and flourish, and fall back, and progress, and struggle. We’re a long way from the rest of the world, which is in itself both a blessing and a disadvantage. The remoteness has saved a lot of our ancient history and monuments; its natural beauty has preserved its wildness and creatures. So first and foremost, I must thank Cornwall, for all it has given me.

We're thrilled to have had the opportunity to put some questions to Jane about her latest book and how Secrets of the Bees came into being. Keep reading to hear from Jane...

How did Ezra’s predicament at Trengrose first come to you as an idea for a story?

There have been stories about estates in Cornwall being left to the Duchy of Cornwall because their owners died without leaving a will, and it occurred to me that this situation might throw up considerable difficulties if you weren’t able to prove that you were living in a property legally if you had no paperwork, especially since there are so many unregistered properties in Cornwall. And I have two friends who had been evicted from their long lets so landlords could rent for a lot more money to tourists, and who had been unable to find anywhere in the county to live, so I knew how precarious Ezra’s position might be.

Ezra is a wonderful main character, did he come to you fully formed or did you find inspiration from multiple places?

Ezra represents a certain type of old Cornishman, many of whom I’ve met over the years, starting with my grandfather Stanley Martin, and including a dozen or so tough old boys in and around Fowey, Looe and Mousehole. They are hard as granite, but good-hearted and resilient people, funny as hell, but with a lot of life-experience. One of the themes of my writing is (as in The Sea Gate) the tendency younger people have to write off the old as weak or useless: but if they come up against someone like Ezra, they’re in for a surprise!

The opening chapter has a very moving encounter between Ezra and the Bees, can you tell us more about how you decided to interweave nature into the story?  

My grandmother used to keep bees, and I drew upon my memories of her talking to them. You have to keep them abreast of all the news and gossip in their little realm, or they are liable to up and leave. We live in a delicate ecosystem, and bees are the perfect symbol for this. If we look after the bees – by leaving areas wild and planting bee-friendly plants and not using pesticides – we are ensuring the health of our environment. Bees pollinate crops; and without those crops we go hungry. So everything must work in tandem to create a natural balance, which is why Ezra lives lightly on the land, enabling life to continue as it should. When the balance is upset, disaster can ensue!

Does experience living in Cornwall make it easier to write about or does it pose challenges when introducing settings like Trengrose?

I think it would be impossible to write a truthful story about Cornwall without living here and having long roots in the county. There are very few genuine Cornish writers writing about Cornwall. Unless you’re here for decades and year-round, you wouldn’t see so clearly the problems and the poverty. It’s crucial to be unsentimental and accurate if you want to make a truthful story – even if it has elements of humour and the supernatural. Being Cornish enables me to say the things a lot of people daren’t say, and a lot of things people don’t see. And I can poke fun from within, rather than from outside.

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process? Where do you write and do you have any writing habits? Do they change with each book you write?

I like to write my first draft in longhand, in a notebook that I carry with me on my walks, and especially on my allotment. It bypasses the mechanics of typing (at which I am terrible) and opens up the creative flow for me. My allotment is right by the sea, and the sound of the waves is a constant background susurrus, which also aids the writing process, providing a sort of white noise, but also releasing theta waves in the brain, which are associated with enhanced creativity, improved focus, and a sense of calm.

Which books do you like to read? What was the last book that you read and would recommend?

I always have at least one book on the go, often an audiobook. I’ve been working my way through the brilliant Patrick O’Brian's Aubrey and Maturin books lately. My favourite recent read, though, is David Nicholl’s You Are Here, which I adored and made me bark with laughter. I’ve recommended it to everyone.

Was there a novel or moment in time that made you think, I want to be an author?

I’ve been writing stories since I was a child. I think the moment that made me determined to be a writer, and craft my own tales, was my mother taking me to see Bambi when I was 7 or 8. I came straight home and immediately started to write my own version of the story in which Bambi’s mother did NOT die. I was determined to overlay my own desired-for reality over the Disney tale, and I’ve never stopped. My next story was the whopping 70pp story of Thunderbolt the Dartmoor Pony, and I think that was inspired by reading Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. I’ve been writing about animals ever since – which is why Bucca – the evil black cat – gets to have point-of-view chapters in Secrets of the Bees!

***

To grab your copy of Secrets of the Bees, scroll down and make a difference by purchasing it on LoveReading. With 10% off and the fact that you are able to donate 25% of your purchase to a school, know you're doing great things by shopping with us.

To dive into more of Jane's books, check out her author page on LoveReading.

If you'd like to read more books set in Cornwall, explore our collection of novels set in Cornwall