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Short stories will celebrate the capital's Royal Park life
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent19 Jun 2009
There is romance in Hyde Park and Restoration drama in St James's as eight writers bring London's Royal Parks to life.
Authors including William Boyd, Ali Smith, Nicola Barker and Will Self have each taken one of the capital's green spaces to create a short story commissioned by Royal Parks managers.
Self said he was delighted to take part because he had never been to Bushy Park, near Hampton Court Palace, before the commission.
“It's a good example of how once you get to the margins of London it opens up. It's a huge park which is redolent of history.
“There's a magnificent chestnut avenue and an astonishing baroque fountain of Diana [the Roman goddess of hunting].”
The inspiration for his story came from talking to an enthusiastic park manager, who became a central character in A Report to the Minister.
Barker, a former Booker Prize nominee known for dark, disturbing stories, wrote By Force of Will Alone about Greenwich Park.
She said: “I had to rein myself in a little so that the story would be suitable to read in the park by people of all ages.”
Another of the authors, Adam Thorpe, lives in France but was inspired by Hyde Park as a child. Researching the park for his story, Direct Hit, he became fascinated by its Second World War history.
“There was a bomb shelter that did receive a direct hit and bits of people ended up in the trees.”
The Royal Parks are holding free readings, starting with Clare Wigfall in St James's Park on Monday followed by Boyd and Thorpe.
The other stories are by Shena Mackay on Richmond Park and Hanan al Shaykh on Kensington Gardens.
