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Hi Maggie - welcome to the forum. I've been avoiding the thread till I finished Esme Lennox (which I did last night - I very much enjoyed it too!), in case I hit any spoilers, so a belated :D indeed!

 

I was wondering about one of the choices you made in the writing style of Esme Lennox - What made you go with third person present tense for Iris and Esme, but first person present tense for Kitty?

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It seems very strange how.

 

It said in the book she had schizophrenia, which I have seen and I know people with it haeve halucinations, but then it is only a matter of a doctors opinion anyway in many cases. The label often doesn't mean anything..

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Hello again Maggie!

 

What inspired/prompted you to write Esme Lennox? Was there a specific issue that you thought was interesting and wanted to explore? (The review in the Guardian talked a lot about 'the Orphans of the Raj', which Esme certainly appears to be a part of - was that something you heard about first or did that come with research?)

 

Also musicians always get asked who/what inspired their new album, so what particularly inspired Esme Lennox?

 

Lots of questions there, sorry! Think of me as a fluffy, bookish version of Jeremy Paxman :D And amateur :D

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Hi Maggie, I'm Gyre, its nice to meet you.

 

I didn't think Esme was schizophrenic at all or in fact had a mental illness (the death of her brother affected her deeply and the fact her family did not want to talk about Hugo, did not help), unless of course 'being different' means you have a mental illness, but I think not.

 

You got the whole stigma of mental illness during that time across so brilliantly, my question is (and it is not far off the mark from Icecream's) but how did you research for the book?

 

Thanks x

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I enjoyed her short story Kew Gardens - it's a very clever piece of writing which helped me to understand her writing style and what she was trying to achieve.

That's a good recommendation. I'll have a look for it. Thanks.

 

Maggie

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Hi Maggie - welcome to the forum. I've been avoiding the thread till I finished Esme Lennox (which I did last night - I very much enjoyed it too!), in case I hit any spoilers, so a belated :D indeed!

 

I was wondering about one of the choices you made in the writing style of Esme Lennox - What made you go with third person present tense for Iris and Esme, but first person present tense for Kitty?

I always wanted it to be one story told by three people and the third person really lends itself to multiple narration. Kitty's, however, had to be in the first person, because of its jumbled nature. And the way she gives herself away without meaning to. There's no way I could have got across the state of her mind in the third person. It was also important because she holds the key to the story. Does that make any sense...?

 

Maggie

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Icecream, even today women go through pregnancy without knowing.. it can happen.

 

I don't think she actually had any kind of mental illness either.. Maggie?

You're right, of course. It's perfectly possible even now for women, particularly teenagers like Esme, to be unaware that they are pregnant.

 

And, yes, right again. She's not insane and has no mental illness whatsoever. She's saner than most of the other people in her family. She's misdiagnosed as a schizophrenic, which a great number of women were in the last century. What we'd now recognise as normal, teenage, rebellious behaviour was often seen as evidence of insanity, particularly in women. If anyone's interested in this subject, I'd recommend the two books I mention inthe acknowlegements at the back of the novel - the RD Laing and the Elaine Showalter. They explain it better and in rather more detail than me.

 

Maggie

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Hello again Maggie!

 

What inspired/prompted you to write Esme Lennox? Was there a specific issue that you thought was interesting and wanted to explore? (The review in the Guardian talked a lot about 'the Orphans of the Raj', which Esme certainly appears to be a part of - was that something you heard about first or did that come with research?)

 

Also musicians always get asked who/what inspired their new album, so what particularly inspired Esme Lennox?

 

Lots of questions there, sorry! Think of me as a fluffy, bookish version of Jeremy Paxman :D And amateur :D

Dear Jeremy,

 

In the early 1990s, just after Thatcher had passed her "Care in the Community Act" and the big Victorian asylums were being closed down, someone told me about their grandmother's cousin. She had just died at the age of ninety in one of these closing asylums, two months from release. She'd been put away at the age of nineteen, for planning to elope with a legal clerk. I couldn't forget this cousin and so embarked on research about women who'd been put away for reasons of immorality - and uncovered so many I knew I had to write a novel about it.

 

A book that really inspired Esme was Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper.

 

Maggie

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I was wondering something along the same lines just this morning PDR.

 

Maggie, what inspired you to look into/research mental institutions and their practices/ mental illness?

Hi there,

 

See above, my reply to our friend PDR...

 

Maggie

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Hi Maggie, I'm Gyre, its nice to meet you.

 

I didn't think Esme was schizophrenic at all or in fact had a mental illness (the death of her brother affected her deeply and the fact her family did not want to talk about Hugo, did not help), unless of course 'being different' means you have a mental illness, but I think not.

 

You got the whole stigma of mental illness during that time across so brilliantly, my question is (and it is not far off the mark from Icecream's) but how did you research for the book?

 

Thanks x

Hi Gyre,

 

Is that as in Yeats' gyres?

 

There are numerous brilliant books on the subject, two of which are mentioned int he acknowledgements for the novel. Also, a number of memoirs (The Ha ha, by Jennifer Dawson & Antonia White's trilogy, for example). The Wellcome Library in London was very helpful too.

 

Maggie

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I have a non-literary question, but one that I find equally important...

 

Have you bought any more Vivienne Westwood shoes lately, Maggie? :D I once read an interview where you were showing off a gorgeous pair of red ones!

You're right. It is an important question. And the answer is yes. I got married two years ago and I bought myself some silver Vivienne Westwoods for that. My son had silver Kickers to match...

 

Maggie

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You're right. It is an important question. And the answer is yes. I got married two years ago and I bought myself some silver Vivienne Westwoods for that. My son had silver Kickers to match...

 

Ah, how lovely! Belated Congratulations, by the way! :D

 

(On the fashion theme: I really enjoyed your article that featured in Elle magazine last year. Like I always thought, being a writer and an interest fashion can go together, lol)

 

Funnily enough, this has just reminded me of another question I've been meaning to ask:

 

Throughout all your novels, 'family' is a strong feature, both narrative-wise and thematically - especially the bonds and secrets between certain members. As well as Esme and Kitty, I'm also thinking of Alice and her sisters, as well as Anne and Elspeth in After You'd Gone, and the sisters in The Distance Between Us.

 

Has your own family influenced this or do you mainly seek inspiration in others? (As you mentioned in your reply to Gyre's question about the "grandmother's cousin")

 

Has your perception of writing families changed since you started a 'new' one with your son and husband?

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I didn't think Esme was schizophrenic at all or in fact had a mental illness (the death of her brother affected her deeply and the fact her family did not want to talk about Hugo, did not help), unless of course 'being different' means you have a mental illness, but I think not.

 

I thought exactly that Gyre, but she did halucinate!

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There's no way I could have got across the state of her mind in the third person. It was also important because she holds the key to the story. Does that make any sense...?
It makes perfect sense, thank you. :D I thought it lent a great deal to her as a character (I don't think I would have felt so sympathetic towards her had her story been told third person like the others).
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I didn't think Esme was schizophrenic at all or in fact had a mental illness (the death of her brother affected her deeply and the fact her family did not want to talk about Hugo, did not help), unless of course 'being different' means you have a mental illness, but I think not.

 

I thought exactly that Gyre, but she did halucinate!

 

It transpires that halucinations are not actually a sign of madness, so I gues that clears that up..

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It makes perfect sense, thank you. ;) I thought it lent a great deal to her as a character (I don't think I would have felt so sympathetic towards her had her story been told third person like the others).

 

I think the fact that Kitty had altziemers (sp) added to the novel - it gave a candid voice to Kitty - had she been ok she would also have been very defensive I suspect and may be less honest about events. Also it meant that the story revealed itself gradually - like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle - kept me guessing to the end!

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Hello and belated welcome Maggie. The question I have for you is...

 

When you have finished writing your books do you have somebody who goes over it to 'prove' read it? i.e. check for grammer, punctuation and spelling. Or do you check it yourself as you go along?

 

I know its a bit of an odd question but it is something which intrigues me and i keep forgetting to ask!

 

I enjoy TVAOEL very much (I remember Caulderstone's being talked about when I was younger) and look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

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hello and another belated welcome to the forum maggie!

 

my name is alison, I have only one of your books "My lovers lover" and it's and excellent read!

 

my Question is, Who are your influences in books? and when you're not writing what other writers would you sit down and read?

 

 

Keep up the good work!

 

regards

 

alison

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Has your own family influenced this or do you mainly seek inspiration in others? (As you mentioned in your reply to Gyre's question about the "grandmother's cousin")

 

Has your perception of writing families changed since you started a 'new' one with your son and husband?

 

I always, always try to avoid writing about real people in my books. It wouldn't be fair on them. Obviously, things from my own life do appear in my fiction - it would be difficult for them not to - but I don't tend to write autobiographically as a rule. I have to live my life; it would be boring writing about it as well ...

 

And, yes, inevitably, your perception of family changes when you have your own. Having spent 30 years as a daughter and sister, you suddenly have a whole new role as a mother. And what an enormous role that is.

 

Maggie

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Hello and belated welcome Maggie. The question I have for you is...

 

When you have finished writing your books do you have somebody who goes over it to 'prove' read it? i.e. check for grammer, punctuation and spelling. Or do you check it yourself as you go along?

 

I know its a bit of an odd question but it is something which intrigues me and i keep forgetting to ask!

 

I enjoy TVAOEL very much (I remember Caulderstone's being talked about when I was younger) and look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

Yes, absolutely. I have a lovely, patient and brilliant proof-reader called Hazel, who has worked tirelessly on all my very messy manuscripts. She spots all the spelling mistakes and grammar errors, as well as things like calling something a "sofa bed" on page 71 and the same things a "futon" on page 132...

 

Maggie

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hello and another belated welcome to the forum maggie!

 

my name is alison, I have only one of your books "My lovers lover" and it's and excellent read!

 

my Question is, Who are your influences in books? and when you're not writing what other writers would you sit down and read?

 

 

Keep up the good work!

 

regards

 

alison

Influences are the Brontes, Albert Camus, RL Stevenson, Virginia Woolf, Robert Browning, Angela Carter. I'd read any of these when I'm not writing. I also try and read anything written by Peter Carey, William Boyd, Michele Roberts, Ali Smith, among others.

 

Maggie

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(I remember Caulderstone's being talked about when I was younger)

 

Me too. It is the name of our local mental hospital. I even played with the band there once on Rememberance Day. My Mum said there was someone following her around! We haven't done it since..

 

Maggie, something that intrigues me about authors is age. Some people think you have to wait till you are at least 40 or so before writing. Do you think that age makes a better writer (sorry if I sound impolite I'm not trying to say anything about your age!).

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