The title comes from The Picture of Dorian Gray, spoken by Lord Arthur on the occasion of Dorian falling in love with an actress. The choice of title, the rough theme, and the line "You cried yourself to sleep last night. It broke my heart" came together ten or so years ago. The multiple layers of framing narrative coalesced maybe five or six years ago — after I'd lived in London for a little while and grown to love walking the streets of the City, especially during the deserted weekends. But I'm ashamed to say that the similarities between Dorian's picture and the posters of Tess didn't occur to me until very recently, after I'd finished the first draft.
I'm well aware that to properly tell this story the way I want to is far beyond my current abilities. The multiple tenses employed and the way the narrative flits between them should probably not be attempted by anyone. But at least I can say I tried. I may come back to this story in a few hundred thousand words time and try again.
A Rather Commonplace Debut would also make a great title for a first collection, don't you think?
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