HANNAH ROTHSCHILD

Writer and businesswoman Hannah Rothschild talks to Anna Moloney about writing, crypto, and not being a silly novelist

Quickfire Round

TOP OF SUMMER READING LIST

TRUST BY HERNAN

DIAZ

FAVOURITE PLACE TO

READ:

IN BED WITH A CUP OF TEA

FAVOURITE PLACE TO

WRITE:

IN BED WITH A CUP OF TEA

BEST WRITING TIP: HAVE A GO

Book Club

Conceptually brilliant and gripping, this book provides a commentary on national nostalgia and amnesia. So what did Book Club think? Well, we were certainly intrigued. This is a novel that asks a lot of questions, and also left us with a lot of questions. Book Club was filled with a lot of thoughtful ‘mmms’ and vague recalls of university-learned concepts –honourable mention to Benedict Anderson –as we tried to dissect exactly what had happened in this novel. One thing’s for certain, this is not a book to be rushed –a rude awakening for some of our less organised Book Club members.

right. Will she be investing with her newfound knowledge? “Emperor’s new clothes,” she tells me. “Though I think it’s here to stay, I should add.”

Another world that makes its way into High Time that Hannah is no stranger to is that of art. Becoming the first woman to chair the board of trustees of the National Gallery in its 200-year history in 2015 –a role she applied for after seeing an ad in The Guardian –Hannah does not shrug off the significance of the appointment.

“It was both a bit shocking, frankly, but also quite important and I felt an enormous responsibility to get it right in inverted

A combination of sun, aperols and the illusive protagonist Gaustine left Book Club a little confused, but enthusiastic nonetheless. Lucky for one member, whose book also suffered from the sun, with a chunk of 50 pages falling out on said member’s holiday, Time Shelter is far more idea-driven than plot-driven, meaning this was really little loss. Brimming with stories within stories, even if the overall thread was lost, Time Shelter provides a knot of sub-characters and storylines that we all agreed were fascinating. If you’re looking for something thought-provoking, this gets the thumbs up from us, but it’s not our Booker.

THE PUB

Feeling European, Book Club this month

High Time By

HANNAH ROTHSCHILD

Set among the upper echelons during the Brexit referendum, Hannah Rothschild’s latest novel High Time brings high jinks to high finance, and proves that even cryptocurrency can make for a compelling subject.

A comedy of manners about the eccentric Trelawney family, High Time is a satirical comedy of manners on the ways business and finance interact –and is a whole lot of fun too.

Wonderful and fanciful –not least that its central protagonist Ayesha Scott manages to outwit the international mafia all while writing an awardwinning dissertation on art – High Time is fast-paced and high energy, but also contains moment of real sentiment. Hannah proves her deftness for wit and style in this Mitfordesque satire. High art hustles and Cornish castles, High Time is perfect escapist reading with real heart.

Asked whether she thinks such categorisations undersell her writing, Hannah tells me she does. “There’s a mismatch there to be honest in what I’m trying to do and how I think it’s been sold… I’d like it to be presented differently. But you do have to listen to what the pros say.” “I mean, what I’m trying to do is not write a silly novel… So although it’s funny, I hope it’s not silly… and if I’ve failed, then I failed. And I have to own that. And when people say oh, it’s like Jilly Cooper, and I think Jilly Cooper is brilliant, but that’s not who I want to be,” she adds.

commas. Because if you are going to break a glass ceiling and be the first person in whatever it might be to take a job, you’ve got to do it right. That was an added pressure,” she says.

While being a woman in business was and still is challenging, as I talk to Hannah it is clear that pigeonholing is not only reserved to the world of finance. High Time does not shy away from serious issues, especially the repercussions of business, but it is also a fun, fast-paced and, God forbid, funny novel written by a woman –a combination that can be ripe to characterisations as silly or frivolous.

Indeed, with its sharp wit and multigenerational cast of charming but quirky relatives, Hannah’s novels stray far closer to the likes of Nancy Mitford in its tone and style. And while the thrills and high drama of finance played out in her novels may be pure fiction, what about the eccentric family who star? Not quite. “No shortage of anecdotes,” she laughs. Hannah tells me her and her family are very clear with each other about what they think –“we work together, we have to be” –so writing her novel also meant preparing for her greatest and closest critics. Luckily she needn’t have worried, with Hannah telling me she thinks her novel is the first one her father has read since university –“now that was the real gold star”.

, a French bistro nestled beside Southwark Cathedral that sources most of its produce from the neighbouring Borough Market. This spot offers a cosy terrace, an eclectic aesthetic and craft beers that are perfect for pairing with your confused but insightful discussions of highbrow literature. If you need a stimulus for something sophisticated yet esoteric to say, just take a trip to the zany toilets downstairs, you won’t be short of inspiration.

Lawson Sargeant is bent over a scrubbed bench, fixing a tiny sail on a carved, wooden boat. It’s a fiddly and intricate business. In his workshop in Port Elizabeth, on the Caribbean island of Bequia, wooden replicas of yachts and sailing boats are lined up on turquoise-painted shelves all around the room. You might first think that you’ve entered some kind of niche toy store, but the Sargeant Brothers Model Boat Shop is much more than that, with the miniature boats taking months to build and selling from $3,000 upwards (one mini superyacht is for sale for $10,000).

Working alongside his brother and other craftsmen, Lawson uses aged hand planes, small chisels and carving knives to create detailed and realistic replicas. Some boats, he reveals, are commissioned by rich yachties who have heard about the shop on the grapevine and stop off while sailing around the islands; others are simply inspired by the vessels he’s grown up around. He’s even made one for the Queen – a model of The Royal Yacht Britannia –gifted to her in 1985, when she visited Bequia as part of her official tour of the Caribbean.

Turns out that the island, pronounced ‘Beck-way’ and found some 15km south of St Vincent in the Windward Islands, has a long history of boat-building – and not just miniature ones. Beginning in the 1800s, Bequians built a reputation as some of the finest shipwrights in the West Indies, renowned for their superbly crafted fishing boats, schooners and whaleboats.

In fact, drive around the island and you’ll soon spot the reoccurring image of the whale everywhere – painted on the side shops, carved into wooden posts and even featuring on restaurant menus. It’s a nod to the fact that Bequia is one of the few places in the world where, controversially, whaling is still allowed. No more than four whales are allowed to be landed each year