Boyd's restless heroine

 

Ending the Literary Society term on a fine note, William Boyd read to a packed Lecture Theatre, full of girls keen to hear this first-rate writer. He read a short story, which is in the process of being televised: ‘The Dreams of Bethany Delamothe’ and asked girls for advice on the casting of the 22 year old eponymous heroine. Having listened, entranced, to the musings of his drifiting, suggestible, artistic heroine, Channing girls were full of ideas of who should play this part. This winsome story of a 20-something struggling to find her identity and keen to free herself from parental influence, while still financially dependent on them, struck a chord with the audience.

William Boyd also proved a most generous Literary Society lunch guest: regaling us with candid stories of his own life, the motivations behind his work (all his writing circles around the protagonist’s search for identity) and that of others (his friends Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan among others: handy for our English A2 students who are studying these writers!). He was most stimulating company.

This is his third trip to Channing and we very much hope he will continue to be a regular visitor.