Grace, page 42
And then she suddenly remembered where she’d seen Amelia before. She had been the woman she’d seen in the Priory, she thought. The angry woman, being soothed by… this man. Yes! It was the same man. He definitely wasn’t Amelia’s ex-husband then, she thought. Which was, from what she had told her, a very good thing.
As soon as she’d watched Amelia take that man’s hand and walk out of sight down the hill, Michelle began her ascent of Church Street once more. She smiled down at Grace in the buggy.
‘Come on then, little love,’ she said, admiring the Worcestershire Beacon above them, which was just visible in the dim evening light. ‘Let’s go.’
Author’s Note
This novel was inspired by two wonderful women.
Firstly, my friend Lisa, who fell in love with a baby who had been placed with her using the foster to adopt scheme, only for him to be removed and placed back in the care of his family. It was her experience and her grief that inspired the character of Amelia.
As I watched Lisa’s situation play out and offered what support I could, I was struck by the vulnerability of all parties involved in the case, their fates entirely in the hands of the courts. I could see that both the prospective adopters and the baby’s birth family were going through hell, and it was this agonising reality that inspired my story.
Secondly, I was inspired by the excellent journalist Louise Tickle (www.louisetickle.co.uk) whose work fighting for access to report on the family courts has shone a vital light on the way they operate and raised important questions about the way vulnerable parents are treated by the system. Her advice, contacts and expertise helped me greatly as I planned Grace.
Finally, a note about the book’s setting. I grew up in Malvern. It is very much a real place (and well worth a visit) and Malvern Priory is a real church. However, the characters I’ve created within them are fictional, and Langland College and the Elgar Estate are both figments of my imagination.
Book Club Questions
• The way that Michelle was treated as a child has significant implications for the way she behaves as an adult. Can you say the same about Amelia?
• Although Amelia did not give birth to Grace, she takes on a maternal role. What, in your opinion, makes a mother?
• Amelia and Piers appear to be a ‘perfect couple’ when you first meet them. When did you start to feel that something wasn’t quite right?
• Why do you think Rob decided to return to his parents after Michelle’s overdose?
• Currently, prospective adopters have no role to play in court cases like the one portrayed in Grace. Do you think this is fair?
• Amelia and Michelle come from completely different backgrounds, and yet it could be argued that they have very similar personalities. Do you agree?
• How do you feel about the decision Michelle’s grandmother made to put her grandchildren back into care and not tell them about her illness?
• Who did you want Grace to stay with, and why? Did that change as you read the book?
Acknowledgements
I did a lot of reading before I wrote this book, but it was the people I interviewed as part of my research who really helped me put the flesh on the bones of my story. These include a senior family court judge (who asked to remain anonymous), adoptive parent Lisa, social care practitioner Sarah Hosford and the journalist Louise Tickle, who reports on the family courts. It was so important to me that I portrayed things as accurately as I could, with the usual caveats, of course, that this is a work of pure fiction. Any errors or omissions are my own.
Thanks, too, to my editors at Head of Zeus – Thorne Ryan and Hannah Smith – whose input always made everything better.
Next, thanks to my awesome agent Hannah Weatherill at Northbank Talent for her industry knowledge, guidance and friendship, and also to my trusted group of early readers – Teil Scott, Theresa Ricketts, Catherine Ramsden and Vicki Shenkin-Kerr, who all give really useful, honest feedback, which is so important.
Finally, I’d like to give as many hugs as I am able to my husband Teil and children Raphie and Ella, who continue to fill my heart with joy and provide me with a wonderful reason to keep on dreaming (and writing) every day.
About the Author
VICTORIA SCOTT has been a journalist for two decades, working for outlets including the BBC, Al Jazeera, Time Out and the Telegraph. She lives on a Thames island with her husband, two children and a cat called Alice, and when she’s not writing she works as a university lecturer and copywriter. She has a degree in English from King’s College London and a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from City University, London. Victoria’s debut novel, Patience, was a Booksellers’ Association Book of the Month.
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Victoria Scott, Grace
