WORCESTER provides the setting for the debut novel of an actor-turned-teacher who spent decades working at The King's School.

Stephan Le Marchand’s novel, So Much More The Man, blends love, memory and the themes of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

In the book, Philip is an English teacher in Worcester, nearing retirement. Feeling melancholy, as another academic year approaches, he looks back with sadness at his life because, although happy and successful, it has been unremarkable.

He compares himself to the characters in the literature he has taught and wishes his life had been more exciting. In this mood, he encounters Jane – a lost love from 40 years ago who dropped him abruptly after they played Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in an outdoor production in Jersey in 1977.

With Jane suddenly back in his life, Philip struggles with new temptations and powerful memories. But will it all end in terrible tragedy?

Stephan grew up in Jersey and was educated in Victoria College. He has a BA in English and Theatre Studies from The University of Warwick, and an MA in Shakespeare and Theatre from The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. After graduating he spent two years at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and then two years as a professional actor.

He switched to teaching English at the King’s School, Worcester, and lives in the city.

Stephan said: “I am fascinated by the power of memory and I wanted to create a fiction in which to explore how memories of events that once occurred remain vivid decades later.

“But I also wanted to examine how the brain is selective and can choose to forget or at least not to acknowledge things that also happened.”

So Much More The Man is published by The Book Guild this week.