Thoughts on my novel "Cheshire"

Taking a break from my series on writing advice, I wanted to highlight one of my works-in-progress: “Cheshire.”

The story follows Evelyn Liddell Percy, a former member of British Intelligence who is living in retirement after being forced out of SIS. She thought her time as an intelligence agent was over until she is told of the death of her estranged husband and fellow agent, Charles. Believing Charles faked his death, she starts investigating where he’s gone and why he would want the world to think him dead. It leads her down a rabbit hole of old secrets, uncertain loyalties, and mysteries she thought had been solved long ago.

The story is set in 1961 but alternates its chapters between previous periods of Evelyn’s life which showcase her joining SIS and working her way up through its ranks. Beginning with her joining the agency as a mere typist at the outset of World War I, she shows a knack for intelligence work and makes a mark on this emerging organization. Taking place amid the height of Cold War paranoia, I wanted to look at the realities of being a spy and what that lifestyle was like.

“The Secret History of MI-6” by Keith Jeffrey was a fantastic reference while I was doing my research. His book lays out the first forty years of MI-6, also known as SIS. It laid out the hard facts of how these first modern spies operated and how their trade evolved through the end of the Second World War. As a writer, I am fascinated by the ins and outs of history; how things actually were, how they happened, and how they work. The espionage and spy genre is one that has often grown so far from reality, that the general public is surprised when reality doesn’t even bear a cursory resemblance to the fictions they have come to accept. It was these fictions I wanted to sidestep while still crafting a gripping and thrilling narrative.

I love James Bond flicks as much as anyone, but they are—and always have been to at least some extent—a fantasy. James Bond leads the life that every guy wishes they could experience: wearing the best suits, using the coolest gadgets, driving the hottest cars, sleeping with the most beautiful women, all while going on globetrotting adventures in which he is the hero. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s thrilling—but it’s not reality. The original novels by Ian Fleming were a bit more down to Earth, being inspired by his own experiences interacting with members of British Intelligence during World War II, but even then, his stories were colorful and more focused on style and the lifestyle of the dashing secret agent than the gritty reality of it.

There have been spies who have posed as dashing playboys, but that is certainly not the average experience. There have been ingenious and quirky gadgets used in tradecraft like poisoned umbrellas and tracking devices hidden inside the sole of someone’s shoe, but they are remembered because of their novelty and the actual equipment used by spies if far more down to Earth. There have been agents who have played vital roles in saving the world and stopping nefarious plots, but those actions are far more likely to take place in an office or a windowless basement filled with maps and documents than in a shootout with a gang of faceless henchmen. However, when the average person thinks about spies and espionage, it is James Bond that it usually the first thing that comes to someone’s mind. The fantasy has eclipsed reality.

The work of authors like John Le Carre are far closer to real life. Like Fleming, he also had real experience in British Intelligence, but he strayed far closer to the truth. His works such as “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” highlight that espionage is about intelligence gathering and often boils down to a game of who can think three steps ahead of their enemy instead of only two. It was his work that was the biggest influence on “Cheshire,” and how it is the ability to notice the small things or discern clues from the scantest of information that defines intelligence work. There is no shortage of Le Carre’s George Smiley in Evelyn’s literary DNA.

My other biggest takeaway from Le Carre is how important the human element of espionage is. The biggest role of espionage, especially during the Cold War, was human intelligence—the art of embedding or flipping agents among the enemy’s ranks. It is here where the most valuable information is gleaned and how plans can be laid in place that may not pay off for years. The human element also is evident in the characters. James Bond is usually depicted as an unflappable pillar of courage and confidence. Le Carre’s characters depict how living in a world without trust where death comes most often in the form of someone who they know and are familiar with can weigh on a person—or how that lifestyle can attract those with less-than-balanced personalities.

I wrote “Cheshire” with this attitude in mind. I wanted to explore who Evelyn is, and how living as an intelligence agent affects her and those around her. What kind of person joins an organization like this, how does it shape them, what are the consequences of living a life among lies, duplicity, and secrets? An aspect of the book that I focused on was the theme of stepping up and accepting responsibility. For most of her life, Evelyn reported or deferred to someone of a higher rank or who had seniority. Now, in her 60s, having been shunted to the side and forced to work on her own, she must discern if she is capable of being that person who is in the lead, making decisions, and taking action.

Evelyn is a character who grew up as a romantic and idealist, who found a home among other idealists willing to fight for what they believe in. However, that dark world of espionage slowly chips away at that idealism, and she sees, bit by bit, the grim reality of it all. A lot of my characters wrestle with the problem of how to remain a good and moral person in a world that is often neither good nor moral. The world of spies and secret agents is the perfect setting for such a question. Can Evelyn remain a good person despite often being surrounded by bad people? How is that done? What is the fallout on one’s life from living that way? As someone who considers themselves as somewhat of an idealist, I believe idealism does not mean sticking one’s head in the sand and ignoring the dark or complicated aspects or reality, but rather it means accepting the dark and complicated aspects or reality but never failing to look for ways to make it better. I think this is an idea that is very much something Evelyn would espouse.

Evelyn is smart, wry, and—despite her methodical nature—somewhat impulsive. She was a joy to write and a rich character to flesh out and explore. I hope she, and her world, are as enjoyable to readers.