by Hazel Prior
“Oh,” she said. “I see. Ed lives with you now?”
I confirmed that this was indeed the happy case. Ed nodded vigorously and said, “I have my train in there and everything.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said. Then she looked at the wind in the trees, then she looked back at me. “I was hoping to stay on your floor again for a bit, but I expect I could stay with Christina instead.”
I told her that on no account must she stay with Christina. She must take whichever bit of my floor would be best and most suited to her needs. Although Ed should really have a room to himself and the kitchen was unpractical and the downstairs was drafty and full of sawdust, so, thinking about it, there weren’t that many options. Perhaps, as her harp was now in my bedroom, she would like to sleep on my bedroom floor?
“On your bedroom floor?” she echoed.
I said yes, unless she wanted to use my actual bed. As she already knew, it was in fact a very warm, soft and nice bed.
“That’s true,” she said.
She turned her head toward Ed, who was now paddling in the stream.
“I almost didn’t come back,” she murmured, and a tiny noise like a sob came from her throat. “It was so close. If it wasn’t for Ed’s drawing . . .” She turned her eyes back full on me. They were large, shining like the sea.
I didn’t know what drawing she was talking about and I didn’t know at all what I was supposed to feel. But I did know what I did feel, and it was strong. Very strong indeed.
The breeze caught a little wisp of her hair and blew it over her face. I reached out and rearranged it beside her cheek, which was where it was before and where it looked best.
“Dan,” she said, and the sunlight fell on her face, making it look all pink and blossomy. “I’ve got a little something for you.”
“A something?” I said.
“Yes. I want to give it to you now. Just before you came here I found it in the stream and . . . well, call me sentimental, call me romantic, call me a dreamer, but I couldn’t resist. Dan, I . . .” She stopped for a second and shrugged her shoulders. “This says everything. Everything I want to say.”
She put the something into the palm of my hand. It was a small, flat pebble, with two rounds at the top and a point at the bottom. It was almost exactly in the shape of a heart.
“Do you understand?” she whispered.
I looked into her eyes.
I was too happy to speak, but yes, I understood.
Acknowledgments
My huge and heartfelt thanks go to everyone who has helped this book come into existence. Particularly I would like to thank:
My incredible agent, Darley Anderson, along with Mary, Pippa and the whole team. What a wonderful thing that I stumbled across your website when I was at my lowest ebb! How happy I was when you took me on! What a difference you have made in every way imaginable!
My brilliant editor Francesca Best and everyone at Transworld. It is a privilege to work with you. Your dedication, vision and enthusiasm are legendary. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better home for my novel.
Danielle Perez and the amazing people at Berkley. Many thanks for all your help, dynamism and inspiration from America.
Sally Bellingham for reading my initial attempts at novel writing and saying lovely things about them. Who knows if I would have continued writing without your encouragement?
Writing Magazine and Mslexia for all the writing tips and competitions, which have spurred me on. Special thanks go to Mslexia for short-listing an early version of this novel for the Women’s Novel Competition in 2015 and inviting me to a rather important party at Foyles.
Literature Works for supporting writers in southwest England.
The Literary Consultancy for the Free Reads Scheme, which gave me my first professional editorial assistance.
Tim Hampson. Thank you, Tim, for answering all my questions about harpmaking and taking time to show me your beautiful harps and your workshop.
My harp. (Is it a little odd to thank my harp? I’ll risk it. It was, after all, the primary inspiration for this novel.) Harp playing has enriched my life a hundredfold. Who could not fall in love with such a sound? Music is vital to Dan and Ellie in this story, and because it evokes a spectrum of emotions, lifts lives every day and has been my own motivator, I’d like to thank all music makers—especially my friends from Foxwillow and The Hummingbirds.
Exmoor. (Is it a little odd to thank Exmoor? I’ll risk that too.) Exmoor is at the heart of this book, and I owe so much to my beloved walks—to heather, hawthorns, bracken and beech trees, the streams, the slopes and the sea—that have all somehow filtered their way into the story. Of course I must also pay tribute to Phineas, a visiting pheasant who gave me the idea for a slightly offbeat fictional character.
Swanwick Writers’ Summer School and Winchester Writers’ Festival. Both have propelled me forward. Many thanks to those hardworking committees for the wealth of opportunities you give to budding writers. It was winning my way to Swanwick in 2014 that made me start writing seriously. Swanwick is a place where magic happens. It will always be special to me.
My fellow scribblers, who have helped me more than I can say. Simon Hall, thank you so much for your guidance, your belief in me and your endless, much-needed encouragement. Thank you also to Nia Williams for your continual cheerleading, to Rebecca Tinnelly for your companionship through numerous ups and downs on the road to publication, and to Richard Hewitt, Val Penny, Sarah Vilensky and Angie Sage for your invaluable support.
Purrsy and Tommy (The Guys), who were constantly with me—at my side/on my lap/usurping my writing chair/blocking the computer screen—during the creative process; who have been helpful in all sorts of ways I cannot explain.
My husband and best friend, Jonathan, whose kindness has kept me going through so much. Elephantine quantities of love and thanks for everything. This book would never have been written without you.
Readers Guide
Ellie and the Harpmaker
Hazel Prior
Questions for Discussion
1. There are plenty of memorable scenes in the novel. Which were your favorite moments and why?
2. Ellie has fallen in love with the idea of playing a harp. How does the reality compare with the dream? Do dreams ever turn out the way we expect?
3. Were you surprised that Dan makes beautiful harps but doesn’t play them? Why do you think that is?
4. Why does Dan think he isn’t made of the right ingredients? Are there any “right ingredients” for a relationship?
5. How do Ellie’s perceptions change throughout the novel: of Rhoda, of Clive and of herself? Can we ever really trust our own judgment of other people?
6. Dan says, “Music helps fill up the holes that people leave behind.” Is music a luxury or a lifeline? How does music change Ellie?
7. “As I watch from the window the landscape becomes wilder and hillier and sheepier. I feel that simultaneously I am becoming Dannier. . . . Exmoor, in a way, is me.” Why are his surroundings so important to Dan? What does “home” mean to you, and what does your home say about your identity?
8. In what ways have Ellie and Dan been shaped by their parents? How does this bear on their decisions regarding Ed?
9. The fire brings several realizations to both Dan and Ellie. What are they? Has a crisis in your own life ever helped you see things afresh?
10. Why do you think Phineas the Pheasant is so important to Dan?
11. What are the different types of love in the novel? Which do you think is the strongest?
12. What do you think the future holds for Ellie, Dan and Ed?
About the Author
Hazel Prior is a harpist based in Exmoor, England. Originally from Oxford, she fell in love with the harp as a student and now performs regularly. She's had short stories publi
shed in literary magazines, and has won numerous writing competitions in the UK. Ellie and the Harpmaker is her first novel and she is working on her second.
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