From the twee naivety of The First Day, when Deputy Head Porter takes her first nervous steps into Old College, to the perilous brutality of final chapter End Game – we have re-read every word of First Lady of the Keys together on The PorterGirl Podcast. If this is your first trip to Old College then welcome – it’s quite an education. But for our returning alumni, let me say what a pleasure it is to welcome you all back to our esteemed institution, where we have been able to enjoy that very first adventure together, once more.
https://lucyabrazier.podbean.com/
The book was born as a blog, so it feels a bit like coming back full circle, bringing it back episode by episode as a podcast. There isn’t the randomised frivolity of the comments section (which was a big part of the original blog’s success) but there is commentary and asides from my good self, which will just have to do. The comments section was from a much gentler time, anyway – such a thing is now the wild west of the internet, and no one really has the time or inclination for any of that.
The chapters are written so that they make for neat, bite-sized nibbles of fiction, often ending on a cliffhanger and hopefully interesting enough to keep the reader / listener coming back for more. Writing books is super, but it was pretty special to be transported back to those early days when I built Deputy Head Porter’s world week by week.
It was also a bit cringey at times, quite frankly. The naivety of the writing style has its charm without doubt – and reflects nicely the wilfully wide-eyed endeavours of our heroine. But I can’t say I’d write it the same way now. And that, in itself, is what makes it particularly special, I suppose.
First Lady of the Keys felt very familiar to me and, even though there were bits I had completely forgotten about, mostly it was like slipping into a well-worn old overcoat. The following books, though, I seem to remember almost nothing about, for some reason. So I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into those – especially the newer characters such as The Detectives and the menacing arrival of The Bursar (a proper Old College baddie!)
In the meantime, there are two Poirot parodies, a couple of books about James Joyce and… there’s always Who Shot Tony Blair? Not sure whether or not I’ll actually do that one, though. I’m not sure anyone wants to go back there…
For anyone who really can’t wait for all that, you can just read the books yourself –
But for those blessed with the virtue of patience, why not put the kettle on, get out the good biscuits and make yourself comfortable. I’ll read them all to you, one by one.
Lucy Brazier 