The characters in Wilfred Price are all reserved and rarely vocalise their feelings and thoughts.

I wonder if most of us belong very firmly in our time, because of lack of vision and an inability to think outside of what faces us on a day to day basis. Do you believe that this lack of control transcends the novel's setting, and suggests equally that any sense of control the current generation feels is an illusion? It seems that none of the young people in Wilfred Price can claim their lives wholly as their own sacrificing a great deal of control to parents, the community, or even the country (in terms of fighting wars). It seemed a way to explore a wide range of characters and response, without any kind of social censorship, which you find in many other occupations. And everyone faces death, has to find a way of dealing with it. Wilfred's profession is an interesting choice and offers a wider opportunity to discuss stagnation and mortality, why did you decide to make him an undertaker? I don’t mind how people react to Wilfred, as long as they enjoy his company, as it were. How do you hope readers react to Wilfred as the lovable optimist, or as a more complex character, who carries a symbolic role in the novel beyond the pursuit of love and happiness? Grace was my starting point, Wilfred came later but moved into the centre of story. Wilfred is an incredibly likeable character, was he the starting point for your story, or did he evolve from a larger idea? Perhaps everyone has points that are easy to caricature, and everyone has a specific individuality – maybe we are not immune from either. When writing someone else's culture (both in time and geography) it's easy to slip into caricature or pastiche, how did you set about trying to avoid this? You draw the insularity of a small town and its population particularly well, have you experienced this sort of atmosphere first-hand? I wanted Narberth to almost be a character, and to stand in for the world, because it is the world for the characters. It is historically successful and has had a specific identity for many centuries. Is Narberth a typical rural town for you, or is there a unique attitude or atmosphere to the place?

Having grown up in Bedfordshire, what made you set your début novel in the small Welsh town of Narberth? You can read my review here: The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones

The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals is Wendy's first novel, and is a delightful story about love and life set in a small Welsh town in the 1920s. Her first book, a biography of Grayson Perry, was published in 2006. In between writing, studying, and teaching she hosts a radio show on Resonance fm. Wendy was the first person to do an MA in Life Writing at UEA and is currently completing a PhD in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, where she also teaches.

The World is a Wedding by Wendy Jones