The Sister B Letters

Sister B developed from letters I used to write to my husband when I was commuting to work every day in London. He was recovering from a stroke and had mobility problems. I had the idea of posting a letter to him at King’s Cross Station as I arrived in the morning, so that he would be motivated to walk to the front door and pick it up when it arrived the next day. I thought it would be good exercise and might cheer him up, so I would scribble something on the crowded 6.30am train (often sitting on a luggage rack) every morning. The problem of what on earth to write then arose! I soon ran out of funny remarks about the people snoring around me, and the views from the train, so I started to write in the voice of all sorts of other, fictional, characters.

They were a mad lot. One, I remember was an eighteenth century lady who had been washed up on a remote Polynesian island after the ship she was travelling in was lost in a storm. She set about taming the wildlife and was befriended by the islanders. Unfortunately, the dastardly Captain Blackwallet and several of his untrustworthy crewmen had also been washed up on the other side of the island, along with the ship’s rum supply…

Sister Boniface was one of the other made-up correspondents. What I particularly enjoyed about Sister B was her unworldliness. She is an unreliable narrator because she only sees the good in people. She and the other sisters have no idea about business, but they start a shop, and eventually a cafe. They are far too kind and innocent for business success, yet somehow they manage.

I love these books for the way they started. They grew themselves into books, and I haven’t stopped writing since. It’s a particular joy that people email me about Sister B saying it cheered them when they were ill. ‘A good book to convalesce with’ someone called it. They worked with my husband, so I’m really glad they work for other people too.