Nicola Upson Explained

Nicola Jane Upson (born 1970) is a British novelist, known for a series of crime novels featuring a fictional version of Josephine Tey as the heroine and detective.^[1]

Biography

Upson was born in Suffolk, England in 1970, has a bachelor's degree in English from Downing College, Cambridge,^[2] and lives in Cambridge.^[1]

Work

Upson presents Tey as lesbian in her novels, and has said "It wasn't explicit, but there's no doubt in my mind ... I've got enough letters and interviews enough conversations with people who knew her well that make me certain that Josephine Tey was gay"; "writing their relationship and the things that have they have to consider and the way that gay women's voices to a large extent were silenced in the 1930s makes me realize how many things in my own life I take for granted".^[3]

Upson has said that the theme of separation in Dear Little Corpses (2022), which involves the disappearance of evacuees in 1939, came partly from her parents' deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom: "I lost them both, not from Covid but during the Covid period; my dad died and then 10 days later, my mum died too. So that was tough. And although they didn't die of Covid the enforced separation affected them so much, but also, you feel very cheated at the time you couldn't be together".^[3]

Personal life

Upson's partner is the folk singer, novelist and radio presenter Mandy Morton.^{[4] [5]}

Novels

• An Expert in Murder (2008)
• Angel with Two Faces (2009)
• Two for Sorrow (2010)
• Fear in the Sunlight (2012)
• The Death of Lucy Kyte (2013)
• London Rain (2015)
• Nine Lessons (2017)^[6]
• Stanley and Elsie (2019) – standalone novel
• Sorry for the Dead (2019)
• The Dead of Winter (2020)
• Dear Little Corpses (2022)
• Shot With Crimson (2023)^{[7] [8]}

External links

• Official website (archived at the Wayback Machine)
• Nicola Upson on Twitter
• Nicola Upson on Facebook
• 2019 interview with author Jenny Wheeler (includes transcript)
• Interview, with Carol Ann Lee, Mandy Morton, and Nicola Upson, Felixstowe Book Festival 2017

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mark Smith . Nicola Upson's enduring love for Josephine Tey (From HeraldScotland) . HeraldScotland.com . 2015-06-13 . 2017-03-30.
2. Web site: Nicola Upson | Authors | Faber & Faber . Faber.co.uk . 2017-03-30.
3. News: Spencer . Alex . Nicola Upson interview: 'Family tragedy inspired my latest novel' . 25 June 2023 . Cambridge Independent . 27 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20230625184439/https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/whats-on/nicola-upson-interview-family-tragedy-inspired-my-latest-n-9256472-9256472. 25 June 2023.
4. Web site: Upson . Nicola . Nicola Upson, author of Dear Little Corpses shares seven things she'd like her readers to know . Female First . 25 June 2023 . 17 March 2022.
5. News: Spencer . Alex . Mandy Morton interview: Purrfecting the mystery of The Ice Maid's Tail . 25 June 2023 . Cambridge Independent . 14 February 2020.
6. News: Goldsworthy . Kerryn . Nine Lessons review: Nicola Upson's stylish historical crime fiction . 14 December 2017. . . 20 December 2017 .
7. Web site: Upson . Nicola . SHOT WITH CRIMSON: Too much of a good thing. Less, please . Kirkus Reviews . 7 November 2023 . 9 September 2024.
8. Web site: Harriet. Shot with Crimson by Nicola Upson . Shiny New Books . 24 January 2024 . 9 September 2024.