I'm so happy to bring you a Publication Day interview with the author Allie Cresswell as part of the celebrations for her latest historical novel, Tall Chimneys.
Considered a troublesome burden, Evelyn Talbot is banished by her family to their remote country house. Tall Chimneys
is hidden in a damp and gloomy hollow. It is outmoded and inconvenient
but Evelyn is determined to save it from the fate of so many stately
homes at the time - abandonment or demolition.
Occasional
echoes of tumult in the wider world reach their sequestered backwater -
the strident cries of political extremists, a furore of royal scandal,
rumblings of the European war machine. But their isolated spot seems
largely untouched. At times life is hard - little more than survival. At
times it feels enchanted, almost outside of time itself. The woman and
the house shore each other up - until love comes calling, threatening to
pull them asunder.
Her desertion will spell its demise, but saving Tall Chimneys could mean sacrificing her hope for happiness, even sacrificing herself.
A
century later, a distant relative crosses the globe to find the house
of his ancestors. What he finds in the strange depression of the moor
could change the course of his life forever.
One woman, one house, one hundred years.
Welcome to Books, Life and Everything. Thank you so much for
agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing.
Would you
like to start by telling us a little about yourself and how you started as a
writer?
I was born in Stockport and went to Birmingham University
where I met my husband. Unfortunately it took us thirty years to realise we
were meant for each other and get married! But that is a story for another day!
We live in rural Cumbria with our two Cockapoos. I have two grown up children
and three (but soon to be four) grandchildren.
I think I have always been a writer. I loved writing stories
as a child and, one year, when I was about seven, asked for a stack of writing
paper for Christmas. I was always toying with ideas but being a Mum with young
children made actually doing any writing quite hard and, of course, getting
started is the most difficult part of any project. In 1992 I started my first
book. It took me ten years to finish it. In 2007 my personal circumstances underwent
a radical change and I was able to write full time. Since then I have written
five more novels and two anthologies.
What is it
about the historical fiction genre which attracts you?
This is the first historical novel I have attempted. Game
Show, my book about the Bosnian War, is historical now, but at the time of
writing it was current.
I think the need to be absolutely accurate with facts and
dates, the sheer amount of research required, put me off up to now, but this
story came to me and needed to be told. What interested me in particular was
the dramatic tension between the decline of the country house in the twentieth
century and the rise and rise of opportunities for women during the same
period. If I yoked a woman to a large country house, how would that tension
play out?
Without
spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about Tall Chimneys?
Tall Chimneys is about a girl, Evelyn, brought up with
strict Victorian values at a time when those ethics were being replaced with
more liberal ways of living. She was raised expecting to be a quiet,
subservient woman but finds herself in an era when much more is possible for
women and, indeed, much more is required of her. Out of step with everything,
she is sent to live at the family’s secluded country house in Yorkshire and
more or less abandoned. The machinations of the predatory estate manager,
Sylvester Ratton make life very challenging, but the arrival of a handsome
artist promises some improvement to her lonely, vulnerable situation.
While many country houses are being demolished, she is
determined to save hers; it is her refuge, her only home. Its seclusion means
that she can make her own choices, disregarding society’s censure, fighting to
suppress her in-built sense of shame to do what she believes is right. But it
comes at a cost. From the peculiar hollow in the Yorkshire moor she watches the
decades pass her by. Rather than a sanctuary, she sometimes wonders, is her
precious house a prison? It has a
curious hold on her. Sometimes she feels that it would not allow her to leave,
even if she wanted to.
One hundred years later, a distant relative arrives in
Yorkshire from the States to find his family’s country seat. What he finds in
the strange, vegetation-choked crater in the moor will change his life forever.
How do you
set about researching and ensuring your books are realistic?
In terms of facts and dates, everything has to be carefully
researched and accurately represented, unless you’re going to use artistic
licence to suit your story, in which case you must make that clear. Making
books realistic is the same in any genre and it’s all about character. They
must act in accordance with the qualities you have given them. They must be
true to themselves. As a writer, I have to allow them to grow and develop.
Sometimes they surprise me! But I have to let them have their way even if it
means changing the direction of the story. If it isn’t authentic, the reader
can tell, and it leaves a bad taste. It’s like that squirty cream you can buy
in aerosols. It might look good for a few minutes, but then it dissolves into a
pool of greasy white liquid and nobody is fooled into thinking it is real
cream.
Did you base
the house, Tall Chimneys, on any particular house you have visited?
No. I researched Jacobean houses and found one called
Tissington in Cheshire that looked as I had imagined Tall Chimneys to look
(minus the chimneys), but I haven’t visited it. I sent my cover artist, Sarah
Reid, a picture of the house and some examples of the work of John Piper, who
inspired my ideas for the art of John Cressing, my artist character. She came
up with the original artwork for the cover.
Your story
spans 100 years. Did you have a preference for one of those time periods when
you were writing the novel?
I found the period around 1936 very interesting as I wrote
that section; the rise of the Fascists in Britain, the political events in
Germany and Europe, the abdication of Edward VIII. They all enlivened what was
actually quite a drab and difficult period in Britain as people struggled to
cope with the aftermath of the depression, unemployment was widespread and
poverty extreme. In many ways it reminded me of the period of austerity we have
just lived through.
When you’re
not writing, what do you like to read?
I enjoy the classic novels of the nineteenth century but am
discovering some really good, modern literary writers too. I have just finished
a novel by Elizabeth Strout which was marvellous. I beta read for my writer
colleagues when I am asked to do so, and try to support other Indie writers by
reading and reviewing their work. This has introduced me to some very talented
but unfortunately not well known writers.
What can we
expect next from you?
I am toying with two ideas at present. I would like to write
a sequel to The Hoarder’s Widow. I feel that Maisie’s story isn’t quite
finished, and also I feel drawn to explore the lives of other characters I
introduced as her friends. However, also cowering in a cobwebby corner is a
desire to write a spin-off of one of Jane Austen’s novels. I know this is
hallowed ground, and so many writers have decimated those precisely-tended
shrubberies and defiled the drawing room carpets in their attempts to emulate
Miss Austen. I wouldn’t want to be numbered amongst them. But my writing has
(flatteringly) been compared to Jane Austen more than once, I love her books
and would love to create something she might not shudder to look over. So,
watch this space!
That sounds exciting, Allie. Thanks again for giving us an insight into your writing.
My Thoughts
I always enjoy historical novels featuring the twentieth century and this one did not disappoint. It was fascinating to view the period through Evelyn's eyes, even though she was so cloistered in her family house, Tall Chimneys. Through the visitors who stay in the house in the mid-century years, you glimpse different aspects of the Second World War, from the fascist right through to the American soldiers who are billeted there.
It becomes quite difficult to extricate the character of Evelyn from the presence of the house. It is as if she needs to be there in order to function and feel safe. Though she might be in danger from certain characters, she finds it impossible to break away. As her life fails to find fulfillment, the house itself deteriorates and falls into disrepair. It is almost like a physical representation of her state of mind.
This is a long and complicated story which is well written and all the loose ends are tied up at the end. There are some interesting secondary characters who are all drawn to the house for different reasons. There is a nod to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre in Evelyn rejected as she is by her family and the house itself is almost Gothic in tone which added to my pleasure in reading.
In short: a family saga which spans a century.
About the Author
Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing
fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.
She did a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University
and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.
She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper,
run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes
full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.
She has two grown-up children, one granddaughter and two
grandsons, is married to Tim and lives in Cumbria, NW England.
Tall Chimneys is the sixth of her novels to be published.
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