by Alis Hawkins
Pornography
As Harry says, writing pornography was not illegal and neither, strictly speaking, was selling it. The Victorians hadn’t got around to being excessively prudish by 1851 (though they were getting there) and the Obscene Publications Act was not passed into law until 1857. Prior to that, the authorities had to rely on an 1838 amendment to the Vagrancy Act of 1824 which made it illegal to cause ‘moral outrage’ to the public by ‘wilfully exposing to view, in any Street … or public Place, any obscene Print, Picture, or other indecent Exhibition’. The police did – fairly regularly – bring prosecutions against people like William Gordon but it was often difficult to do so successfully until the 1857 Act.
In general, in Those Who Know, I’ve referred to the literature concerned as ‘erotic fiction’ rather than ‘pornography’ as the latter term suggests, to the modern reader, something far more obscene – and possibly disturbing – than the volumes and photographs John saw on sale in Wych Street and Holywell Street.
The Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales
This1847 report – in later years dubbed Brad Y Llyfrau Gleision or the Treachery of the Blue Books – is a county-by-county, parish-by-parish, school-by-school survey of every teaching establishment that the commissioners could find. It’s incredibly detailed and, although it’s now seen to be more than a little biased, the data collected still represents an enormous repository for the social historian. If you’d like to read it, it’s available online, free. John’s account of the Report, though somewhat prejudiced, is broadly accurate and Wales and the Welsh language are still recovering from its pernicious effects.
Acknowledgements
As ever, first and greatest thanks go to my beloved other half and first reader, Edwina, for all her endless support and constant positivity. The writing and editing of Those Who Know took place during a hectically busy year and a half which I would not have survived if Edwina had not basically taken up all the slack in our domestic arrangements and coped with my being, at best, distracted and, at worst, obsessed with getting stuff done. Thank you, my love, I literally couldn’t have done it without you.
Huge thanks to Rebecca Lloyd and Emily Glenister at The Dome Press who are an absolute joy to work with and who have offered me enormous support and encouragement during the last year or so. Emily, thanks so much for your steadfast support during my mad tour of all the independent bookshops in Wales last year. Rebecca, your insightful comments have helped me make Those Who Know a far better book and I’m so pleased that you’ve got John and Harry’s backs! I’m really looking forward to working with you on future books in the series.
Jem Butcher’s covers for the series are wonderful and the one for Those Who Know is no exception. I’m so grateful both to Jem and to David Headley and the editorial team at The Dome Press for allowing me to have so much input into cover design – it’s a real privilege for a writer to be listened to as everybody at The Dome Press has listened to my ideas.
In my writing life I am very fortunate to have made some wonderful friends along the way. Particularly important to me are the authors of the Macmillan New Writing crew: Eliza Graham, Len Tyler, Aliya Whiteley, Frances Garrood, Tim Stretton, Deborah Swift and Roger Morris – our regular London meetings and intermittent online group chats are a huge support when things are tough and a great joy when we all have something to celebrate. I must also thank various Crime Cymru authors for their friendship and support over the last year. Particular thanks in this context must go to Katherine Stansfield, Bev Jones, Thorne Moore, Matt Johnson and Chris Lloyd.
Thanks also to the booksellers and festival organisers who have taken Harry and John to their hearts and introduced them to their readers. Particular thanks to Emma Corfield-Walters of Bookish in Crickhowell and the Crickhowell Literary Festival, Matt Taylor of Chepstow Bookshop, Beth at Victoria Bookshop in Haverfordwest, Inge Fullerlove, manager of the Aberystwyth branch of Waterstones and Jacky Collins (aka Dr Noir) founder of Newcastle Noir crime festival.
Almost last, but by no means least, to my family – Sam and Nancy, Rob and Flo, Mum, Dad and Jim. Thank you, my loves, for always being there and for not being surprised that it all worked out in the end. Your faith has always meant everything to me.
And finally, dear reader, if you have slogged your way to the end of the acknowledgements, thank you! Without you and all the other readers who have responded so enthusiastically to Harry and John, there would be no series and I would be a very sad author.
If you would like to contact me, please use the contact tab on my website: www.AlisHawkins.co.uk
Published by The Dome Press, 2020
Copyright © 2020 Alis Hawkins
The moral right of Alis Hawkins to be recognised as the author
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organisations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781912534265
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