Will Rycroft

The curator's thought processes about their work were also fascinating.

So I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about how you've structured your book and this idea of having the curator at the beginning and then how that dives into the history which they are trying to bring to life.

I have to say when I was reading the book I was really engaged in the curator's story and it hadn't occurred to me that we were suddenly going to go back into the past and it was a real surprise and quite a sort of shock and a delight really to suddenly find myself there like I had literally time travelled.

Were you always going to have that structure to the book or did you ever toy with a different way of telling this story?

I will say to readers, don't tap out.

Don't tap out.

It gets great.

Madeleine, I'm going to come to you now.

Obviously, you have a more linear timeline in your book.

So we're not talking about something structured here, but you have a completely different technical challenge, which I think is comedy.

I'm just going to read a few books that are comments before I say what I mean here.

So IJ in Edinburgh said, the funniest book I've read in a long time.

Ben in Chichester said, bonkers, laugh out loud funny.

This was a joy ride from start to finish.

And then Bailey in Warrington said, I won't beat around the bush here.

This book is fucking funny.

So some great comments there.

And I think that writing comedy is an extremely technical exercise.

But I was wondering whether you think that that's the case or do you just have funny bones?

Does it just come naturally to you?