From a Dream to a Full-Fledged Novel
Through the Eyes of a Servant began as a recurring dream I had for years: a grand manor-house surrounded by a forest, a butler standing in a dimly lit hallway, and a lady entering an antique shop called Bridgedale. These fleeting visions became the roots of the story, the map of Ethel’s manor, and eventually, the inspiration for an entire world.
Every character in the novel lives somewhere in England, and their dialects reflect that. Paula and Thomas speak in refined Received Pronunciation, Clement in a clumsy, almost lost Cockney, Cliffe with a stuttering Geordie accent. Each voice adds authenticity and charm to the story.
Historical Reality Meets Gothic Imagination
The Victorian setting is woven with both historical reality and gothic imagination. Stone-Arch Bridge draws inspiration from darker tales of old London Bridge, while the workhouses remind us of the harsh lives of Victorian orphans. Yet amidst the grim, there are moments of romance, suspense, and playful intrigue, particularly the forbidden romance between Paula Ethel and her devoted butler, Thomas Fulton, all while a Twisted Jester stalks in the shadows.
Writing While Juggling Life
I started writing this novel while juggling university life... daily trips to the library, weekends spent crafting chapters, and late nights devouring Victorian classics like The Picture of Dorian Gray, Great Expectations, and Wuthering Heights. My goal was to capture the elegance, drama, and tension of the Victorian era while giving it a modern edge: heart-throbbing romance, dark mystery and twists no one saw coming.
Bonus stories are included to give ‘side characters’ depth, because in this world, no one is truly just a side character. Every corner of the story invites readers to explore the lives, secrets, and passions of those who dwell in it.
This novel has been a labour of love from my earliest drafts at 18 to its publication. I hope readers enjoy stepping into this world as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life.
A Glimpse Into the Story...
Chapter 3, Fleeting and Lost
"The wind bellowed, causing some newspapers to fly out of the opposite window, scattering into all directions of the night. One of the papers flew against the piping work beside Thomas’ window. He grabbed the loose sheet and held it out in front of him. The headline of the first page read: “Infamous killer strikes again!” Baron Arnold Keith had been stabbed in his countryside home, once in the back, twice in the neck… the killer showed no mercy.
Reading the nightmarish tale made Thomas feel sick, reminding him of the gruesome look Eric pulled when he took his final breath. Six killings in three months… what was happening to the world? Now that the man thought about it, all the killer’s victims had one thing in common: they were all nobility.
He was about to head off for another sleepless night when his eye caught the bottom of the page… it was an advertisement for a hiring: 'Now hiring experienced butler for Ethel Manor in the outskirts of London…'”