Your latest novel, Becoming Belle, has just been published. Can you give us the blurb? (with no spoilers for those of us who have yet to read it!)
Becoming Belle is four years in the life of Isabel (aka Belle) Bilton. She goes from military man’s daughter, to star of the London stage, to Countess Clancarty of Galway in that short space, with plenty of scandals along the way.
As a writer of historical fiction, how do you approach the telling of a real life through a creative prism? What are the author's responsibilities?
There are responsibilities. Historical fiction is not factual history nor is it social anthropology. James Wood said hist fic is science fiction in reverse (I’m paraphrasing) so you’re going back and resurrecting the quills, corsets and carriages but, along with that you’re embodying real people and, for me, it’s important to be respectful towards them while building their personalities. I don’t want to make them into paragons but neither am I in the business of completely thrashing people. We’re all a mix of the good and bad, I want my characters to be human in that way. Sometimes, when I’m reading, say, a person’s private letters in the course of research, I feel like a voyeur but someone else has chosen to put me in a position where I can read them and I’m not going to ignore them. At the end of the day, the story is the story.
What is it about historical fiction that grabs you as an author? Do you have a favourite historical novel?
I am very attached to the past, to everything old and reeking of history. I think growing up in an old house (dating from 1704) steeped me in the historic from early on. Also my parents collected, bought and sold bric-a-brac, books and antiques, so I developed a love early on for well-made and rustic objects.
One of my fave hist fic novels of recent years is Michel Faber’s dazzling The Crimson Petal and the White. It’s the ribald, stunning story of young, long-term prostitute Sugar. She’s earthy, grubby, forward-thinking and bright – a woman with agency and a plan.
I’m shortly guest-presenting an episode of RTE Radio 1’s The Book Show, on historical fiction, so people can listen in to that to hear more of who and what I enjoy.
You often mention the importance of physical objects as aids in the process of writing a novel. Tell us more.
Yes, I’m a things person. I often wish I wasn’t because I’m surrounded by clutter at home, too much of it. I collect ceramics, glass, books and curios. I love Victorian jewellery, especially mourning jewellery, which is something I plan to weave into a novel anon.
I like objects as touchstones when I’m writing and I will surround myself with pictures of my characters and objects that they (allegedly) own. In Becoming Belle, Belle’s husband has a mermaid vesta case (match striker) so I bought one of those and I’d look at it and hold it as I wrote. Belle wears a gold heart in several photos so I got an old heart on a chain and wore it when I wrote. I suppose objects like that are a small bridge to the past, a way to embody your character and their physicality, possessions, habits and surroundings.
You are also an accomplished short story writer and poet with several collections under your belt. Do you focus on one project at a time or dip in and out as the urge arises?
The novel takes over your life and I’m super-protective of my writing time. The novel is such a commitment, so all-encompassing so, when I’m writing one, that’s my Big Project and 99% of my writing time goes to that. I will break off if a flash occurs to me, or if I am commissioned to write a story or essay, but I don’t actively seek out other creative work.
Nuala O’Connor lives in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. Her fifth short story collection Joyride to Jupiter was published by New Island in 2017; her story ‘Gooseen’ won the UK’s 2018 Short Fiction Prize and was published in Granta; it is now longlisted for Story of the Year at the 2018 Irish Book Awards. Nuala’s fourth novel, Becoming Belle, was published in September 2018. www.nualaoconnor.com
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