Will Maclean In Conversation

Join Blackwell’s Manchester for an evening with Will Maclean, discussing his genre-defying novel Solace House in conversation with Martha Lewis.

Set in the summer of 1993, the novel follows Alex Lane, a student adrift at the end of term who takes on a job clearing out a vast Victorian house once owned by a reclusive hoarder. Alongside a group of fellow students, he begins sorting through the clutter, forming a close bond with the enigmatic Ella as the house gradually reveals its secrets.

What begins as a straightforward task soon takes a darker turn when the group discovers journals left behind by the house’s former owner. These writings detail an obsessive search for a missing mother, references to a mysterious place called Bewise, and the suggestion of a parallel realm that might be accessed through cryptic instructions. As curiosity deepens into fixation, the boundaries between reality and the unknown begin to blur, raising unsettling questions about how far the group is willing to go in pursuit of hidden knowledge.

Blending elements of psychological drama, horror and speculative fiction, Solace House is an atmospheric exploration of obsession, friendship and the lure of the unknowable.

Will Maclean is a screenwriter and novelist whose debut, The Apparition Phase, was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize. He has worked across television and comedy, collaborating with a wide range of performers and writers.