Mrs Parsons

From A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley by Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

September 13, 2025 · 15 min · Episode 86

About this episode

Sally Bayley sketches a scene for her new novel, exploring the character of Mrs Parsons and her encounter with a mysterious figure.

‘The fate of the writer is to dwell in that realm of shadows and apparitions and half-seen thoughts…’ This week, we join Sally sketching a scene for her new novel, Mrs Parnell, in which the stern housekeeper Mrs Parsons encounters a figure on the stairs. But who is this figure? An intruder? A suitor? Or even, perhaps, a reimagining of Gabriel Conroy, from Joyce’s short story ‘The Dead’ (1914)? Listen for an immersion in Sally’s creative process, developing an image and its home in a narrative. Gabriel was previously the topic of Sally’s conversation with the producer in the last episode. Listen here. This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

People in this episode

Hosts: Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

Topics covered

creative process
narrative development
literary analysis
character exploration
fiction writing

Keywords

Mrs Parsons
Gabriel Conroy
The Dead
creative writing
narrative
fiction
literature

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Mrs Parnell, The Dead