STROUD writer Dan Glaister has released a new novel inspired by the bizarre true story of a fatal duel that took place in Stroud more than 200 years ago. The incident, which happened on August 14, 1807, is believed to be one of the last fatal duels that took place in the UK. When Dan moved into a very old house in the Five Valleys, he found a box full of sheets of parchment dating back hundred of years. Among the papers was a hand-written account of the duel that took place in a field across the valley. Taking the box of papers as a starting point for his debut novel, Dan has created an eerie and macabre tale of obsession.
Last modified on Wed 12 May 2021 05.34 EDT
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mong the hoary lessons a debut writer must learn is that of Chekhov’s gun, the notion that anything introduced to a story must be there for a reason. “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall,” Chekhov wrote, “then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.” It is good advice, serving the demands of brevity and precision, avoiding the deadly burden of inconsequential intrusion into the sparse landscape of narrative.
My novel, A Melancholy Event, features not one but two guns, hanging in a pair. These are guns with a purpose, for they are duelling pistols, and thereby – with apologies to Shakespeare and Jeffrey Archer – hangs a tale.