
Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
S11E11 Green Ink: Stephen May on the mysterious story of Victor Grayson
“He went down for a drink, did not come back. Nobody was found, but no one even started looking for him” ~Stephen May
The story of the UK Labour politician Victor Grayson is a mysterious and thrilling one. Full of holes and unknowns that have never been solved. He went missing in the 1920s following a major political scandal - so what happened?
In ‘Green Ink’, the author Stephen May imagines what might have happened to Grayson, taking this gap in our historical knowledge, to craft a compelling story that skirts between historical fact and fiction.
Though it’s a story about a politician of the past, Green Ink raises prescient questions about the modern world, the behaviour of today’s politicians, and what people will do for just a hint of power and prestige.
In this episode, you will learn:
- How there’s no richer starting point for a work of fiction than reality
- Why it pays to be a bit pedantic when writing in the history genre
- Why writers that don’t write will always be miserable
Find out more about Stephen here.
Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.
Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.
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You can view the full transcript here.
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