Quick Five Questions with Nicole Swengley – design journalist and debut novelist
24th September 2024
Gosling is excited to receive a name-check in the acknowledgments page of your debut novel, The Portrait Girl.
Can you tell us what the story is about?
It’s a contemporary thriller with a strong, Victorian art history thread. We first meet Freya Wetherby, a contemporary jewellery designer, as her life is falling apart. Her jewellery business has failed and her boyfriend has betrayed her. Then she discovers a Victorian portrait miniature in her late mother’s belongings and becomes increasingly intrigued by the young woman depicted.
As Freya embarks on a quest to discover the girl’s identity, a meeting with an art historian draws her into a fascinating but sinister series of salons where the Victorian art world is uncannily brought to life. Past and present become dangerously blurred as Freya unwittingly becomes enmeshed in the devious machinations of modern-day art theft while trying to discover the truth about the portrait miniature – and herself.
Where did you find the inspiration for your novel?
While clearing out my late parents’ house, my sister and I came across some objects we’d never seen before and knew nothing about, including a Victorian painting of a woman we later discovered was a distant relative. That set me thinking: what if….?
How do Gosling’s designs play a part in the story?
Freya visits a contemporary design gallery in Shepherd Market where she is entranced by a sunrise-pink dining table intricately inlaid with straw marquetry. This design was directly inspired by one of Gosling’s tables and I found myself thinking about it when I was writing that scene which is how it found its way onto the page. Meanwhile the art historian’s luxurious house in Chelsea is filled with beautifully crafted furniture, typical of Gosling’s work, and I had great fun conjuring up descriptions of that fictional interior where much of the action takes place.
Descriptions of interiors in the novel were inspired by Gosling’s meticulous craftsmanship.
You’re well-known as a design journalist, having written for numerous publications including the Financial Times, Telegraph, The Times and London Evening Standard. When did you turn your hand to writing fiction?
I took a Faber Academy fiction-writing course in 2017. After a few sessions focusing on characterisation, dialogue, description and other aspects of writing our tutor, the author Rowan Coleman, encouraged us to start working on a novel, beginning with planning the outline. After reading my synopsis, she wrote ‘I love it!’ (with lots of exclamation marks) at the foot of the page. I found her comment hugely encouraging and that’s how The Portrait Girl began a long journey to publication.
You’re clearly passionate about Victorian art. Can you explain its appeal?
At its best, it embraces a satisfying alliance of emotion and imagination. The storytelling can be sensitively subtle or wonderfully dramatic and I’m intrigued by the diversity of sources the artists turned to for inspiration – contemporary literature, classical antiquity, native British myth and legend, biblical and historical subjects, idealised beauty and social realism. The Pre-Raphaelites and their circle of artists have been a particular favourite ever since I discovered them as a teenager so I’m delighted that the front cover of The Portrait Girl features an alluring study of a female head, painted in 1864 by Arthur Hughes.
The Portrait Girl will be published on 10th October by Breakthrough Books. Available in e-book or paperback from Amazon and to order from your favourite bookshop.
Ordering link: The Portrait Girl
