Talking to author Libby Page about her novel The Lido set in Brixton, London

18th October 2018

Libby Page has garnered huge acclaim for her debut novel The Lido, set very firmly in Brixton. It is a story about an unlikely friendship between 86 year-old Rosemary and 26 year-old Kate, united in their passion for community, people and outdoor swimming, as they fight to keep the Lido open.

Libby studied fashion journalism at University and lived in Brixton as a student, before being a journalist at the Guardian for a year. But it was working in marketing that gave her the mental space to really get stuck into writing the novel.

Libby talked to an enthralled audience at the Guildford Book Festival‘s Readers’ Day, and TripFiction’s Andrew was privileged to chat with her afterwards.

TF: Congratulations on the HUGE success of your first novel, The Lido! How critical to the story is the Brixton setting…and do you think it would have worked so well in another location?

LP: The Brixton location is critical to the story. It’s the starting point for the whole novel. I lived there as a student, and in some ways found my own self through the community. It’s friendly, multicultural and vibrant, but I also saw the underlying threats to its continuity. I remember the windows of Foxtons estate agents shopfront being smashed, in protest at the ‘gentrification’ of traditional Brixton. These are some of the themes that I include in the book.

TF: Is loneliness another ‘place’ you explore in The Lido? How do you write about an emotion rather than a physical location?

LP: Yes, at first Kate endures a world of loneliness. London is overwhelming but she is changed by being in Brixton. She starts off with a very limited life, inhabiting just her flat, a shop and the tube but the campaign to keep the Lido open – and her friendship with Rosemary – opens her eyes. It has certainly changed my own life too.

TF: You’re currently working on your second book for Orion. Does that have a strong sense of place too? What can you share with us about that story?

LP: The new book will be published in 2020. It will be very different from The Lido, but it will include some similar themes, like those of friendship and community. Yes, place is very important….the new book will be set in London, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you much more at this stage. Watch this space….

TF: The Lido has been optioned by Catalyst Global Media. Congratulations! If the screenwriters transplant your story from Brixton to Boston – in a similar way to Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity moving from London to Chicago – how would you feel?

LP: That would be mad! The Britishness of Brixton is very important to the novel, and I’m sure Catalyst and their chosen screenwriters will be faithful to London. Place is so central to the story.

TF: TripFiction allows book lovers to find books with a strong sense of place, to see a location through an author’s eyes. Which writers do you enjoy reading, and how important do you think the physical setting is in what you read?

LP: I love Zadie Smith‘s writing, the details of London neighbourhoods she conveys in her books that make the place so recognisable in real life. I identify with any stories set in London, such as Entanglement by Katie Mahood, but I also enjoy less location-centric work from writers like Sarah Winman, Elizabeth Strout and Salley Vickers. 

TF: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us, Libby. Good luck with the second novel, and we’re looking forward to seeing how The Lido appears on the big screen!

Andrew for the TripFiction Team

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