Books Monthly interview
15 September 2009
Hi Ariana. Thanks for taking part. Let’s begin with how you came to be a writer in the first place. When you were at school, did you enjoy and were you good at creative writing? At what point did you recognise it as a possible career?
It’s nice of you to ask me. I come of a long line of journalists, and newspaper reporting was what I wanted to do – and did. It at least gave me the facility to put words on paper. It wasn’t until I had children and was tied at home that I thought of extending into novels.
You've chosen to write about history, and in particular mediaeval history, of course. Was history your favourite subject?
I was always fascinated by history. It amazes me that everybody isn’t.
I was intrigued to see that the US editions of your books are published under different titles to the UK editions. Do you have a big following in the States?
Yes, I’m sorry about the different titles, they’re confusing, but Penguin US, which publishes me in the States, has different ideas for marketing that Transworld in the UK. America’s response was amazing, I was on the New York Times best-seller list, while most of my fan mail comes from Americans.
Did your career as a journalist help in any way with your research in Mediaeval England
Only to the extent that, like most reporters I knew very little – apart from where to find out. The breakthrough was when a friend recommended the London Library, a private establishment set up by Carlyle in the 19th century which contains nearly everything I need. Its great advantage is that you can take books home.
I'm sure you get lots of fan-mail – does that come mainly from your website visitors or do you also get a fair proportion via your publisher?
Mainly from the website.
You're very approachable – your website is fun and contemporary – do you aim to reply to everyone who writes to you? What sort of things do people write to you about?
I reply to everybody kind enough to get in touch. 99% is so complimentary that it gives me a boost to keep writing. Actually, I love the uncomplimentary ones as well; they’re often so vicious that they make me laugh.
What principal sources do you use for your research? Do you haunt your local library or do you do quite a lot of it online?
Well, as I say, the London Library is my greatest source. Wikepedia is useful for tiny references but it never goes deep enough. Then, for illuminated manuscripts, etc, there’s the British Museum, but they have to be viewed in situ. And, of course, I tramp 12th century sites.
Do you read books by your contemporary historical fiction writers to see what they're getting up to?
Hardly at all, funnily enough. For light reading I consume ordinary thrillers. Anyway, very few novelists set their books in my 12th century.
Can you remember any childhood reading that would have fuelled your passion for writing, or did that come mainly from your life as a journalist?
I was a voracious reader but, no, I had no idea that I’d one day be writing books. In fact, it wasn’t until I was commissioned as a journalist to write a couple of non-fiction books that were well received, that I realised I could do it.
Is the character of Adelia based on anyone in real life, someone who actually existed, or is she totally made up? Were there women during that period of our history practising pathology, and do you have any evidence of it?
I suppose, like most fictional characters, she’s an amalgam of people I’ve known. My mother and grandmother, who were battlers in difficult times, have gone into her. The 12th century chroniclers, being mainly monks, wrote women out of history, but you get glimpses of extraordinary women who dared to put their head above the parapet. And, yes, there COULD have been a woman pathologist. (See my answer to your next but one question.)
Are you working on a “Mistress of the Art of Death” book now? When could we expect another Adelia adventure? In fact, will you concentrate solely on Adelia Aguilar from now on, in view of its enormous success and popularity?
I’ve just delivered another Adelia manuscript to the publishers in the US, UK and Canada. I believe it is to come out some time next year. Hope you like it.
Is the School of Medicine in Salerno based on fact, or something you invented for the purposes of your fiction? I could Google that, of course, but it’s much more fun to ask you!
You couldn’t invent the Salerno School; indeed I wouldn’t – I try to invent as little as possible, and my rule is never to make a real historical character do something that they would not have done. The School then belonged to the Kingdom of Sicily that owned the southern half of Italy and was an absolute miracle of a country for its time, liberal, unprejudiced, forward-looking. Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Latin Catholics all combined both in the Kingdom’s government AND in the school, bringing their expertise. You have to know the racial hatred extant at the time to realise how totally marvellous that was. The School permitted autopsy (another marvel) and, most marvellous of all, took in women students. We know that because there is a treatise in existence from the time, written by a female professor. It’s called The Trotula. Well, what a break for me – Adelia was born.
Do you have any personal view on the legend of King Arthur?
Just that I love it. His imprint comes through the ages. He was especially popular in the 12th century when a man called Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote “The History of the Kings of Britain” which included tales of Arthur, brought from ancient sources and elaborated on.
A final question on your writing; obviously, with an historical novel, be it a thriller or otherwise, there has to be a period of research while you gather your notes and work out your story. Do you then plan your writing down to the last detail, or does the story just flow from you, and you check it against your research notes later?
Nearly every plot comes out of research, then I fit Adelia and her friends into it, which leads to more research. I have a storyboard that I follow though, during the writing, I often veer away from it. Mostly I know what the last line of the book will be, and I stagger towards it rather like a drunk aiming for something across a crowded room.
Finally, to your own literary tastes. Can you name five favourite books, titles you couldn't be without? es count as one title, for example, Stephen King's seven-volume THE DARK TOWER, which is one es I couldn't be without!
Only five? Well, there’s T.H. White’s wonderful “Sword in the Stone” which is about the young Arthur before he becomes king. A magic book. White knew more about medieval England than I ever shall, for all my work, and uses it to be funny, outrageous and enchanting. “Pride and Prejudice”, of course – I practically know it off by heart. “War and Peace”, Terry Pratchett’s “The Fifth Elephant,” and Nancy Mitford’s “Pursuit of Love”. I could go on. And on.
Ariana, thank you so much for taking part. I hope it's not too long before there's a new Adelia book coming our way! Best wishes and a big thank you for entertaining us so brilliantly!
Thank you for asking me. I’m really flattered. Good luck with Books Monthly. Anything that encourages people to read deserves the gratitude of all authors.
http://www.booksmonthly.co.uk/ariana.html