What made you decide to write books for children?
I don't recall consciously deciding, right, I am going to write for children. The idea for the story came first and it seemed obvious to me straight away that this one was for children. My own two were around 7 and 10 at the time and I guess I was revisiting a lot of my favorite children's books and an urge must have been growing at the back of my mind to have a go myself.
You made a comment that historical fiction fell out of vogue but is again becoming popular in children's literature. To what do you attribute that change?
I suppose that it is inevitable that contexts and styles and genres fall in and out of fashion. I think that THE GIDEON TRILOGY is a mixture of genres... historical, yes, but also fantasy/science-fiction and adventure. Having talked to my own editor about this very question I suspect that, in a post Harry Potter world, publishers have been so bombarded with ideas for new books about magic and fantasy that perhaps something historical might come as a relief. That said, I don't think children will ever grow tired of magic (I LOVE Harry Potter) and, equally, there will always be children who will be put off by overtly historical subject matter. I'm glad that I did not think too much about this before I put pen to paper. It is for publishers to worry about what will attract the next generation of child readers. It is a writer's job to write what they would want to read. All a writer can do is to stay true to their own unique voice and hope that it will strike a chord with some readers.
Your character development in GIDEON THE CUTPURSE, featuring a sympathetic villain (The Tar Man) and a flawed hero (Gideon Seymour) is quite impressive. How does humanizing them affect the conflict of good versus evil?
Life isn't black and white and I did not want to write about a pantomime villain or, for that matter, a hero who was too good to be true. Understanding why, for example, The Tar Man was pushed towards a life of crime certainly does not excuse him or his actions but it was important for me to hint at the hardships and injustices commonly endured by the poor and the un-empowered at that period of British history. On the other hand, why did The Tar Man's brother, Gideon Seymour, who also found himself in a hard place when still very young, decide to turn his back on crime and try to be a good man? By this stage in the writing process my characters have taken on a life of their own and trying to understand what makes them tick has been one of my great pleasures of writing the trilogy.
Was it more fun to write about the Tar Man or Gideon?
I cannot lie — it was more fun writing The Tar Man but Gideon remains my lynchpin (from a moral and narrative point of view) and there would be no story without him.
You truly manage to take readers back to a time when London was dirty and laden with crime. When you decided to send Peter and Kate back in time, why did you think that the eighteenth century would resonate with young readers?
When I started to find out about what it must have been like to live in the eighteenth century there were so many things that astonished and horrified me. It was a time of such amazing contrasts — on the streets of London you might see the Venetian Ambassador's golden coach alongside poor wretches dying from their addiction to gin. I wanted to show both sides of life to my readers. Also, in my first job, many years ago now, I worked for a remarkable woman who was an eighteenth-century scholar and her fascination with the philosophers and writers of the Enlightenment was inspiring. Despite all the things still wrong with society, it was an age of reason and hope. And from a safe distance, I think young readers might find the descriptions of the criminal underworld exciting!
How much time did you spend on research for the books? Did you read any diaries or personal accounts from people living in London in the eighteenth century?
I could not quantify how much time I spent on research. A lot! But it was done piecemeal in between writing bouts. I spent a lot of time wandering about the streets of Holborn and the City of London, many of which remain largely unchanged. I also have a couple of shelves devoted to books on social history. There were three or four which I was constantly thumbing through. One, in particular, THE GEORGIAN GENTLEMAN, by Michael Brander, was a joy and full of personal accounts of the time.
Who are your favorite authors and how have they influenced you? Are you a Dickens fan?
Rosemary Sutcliffe (bringing the past to life), C S Lewis (creating other worlds), Tolkien (epic, magnificent), E. Nesbit (her warmth), Alan Garner (mystery). As a child I was intimidated by the row of Dickens novels that I inherited from my grandfather. They were brown and musty and heavy and full of big words. As an adult I am learning to love him - though I came to him originally through film and BBC adaptations. I do love his huge casts of characters and his ability to make you want to turn the pages. I often think about him writing his novels in installments when I end a chapter on a cliff-hanger.
Would you say it was harder for you to become a published novelist or a paid scriptwriter? Do you see yourself becoming primarily a novel writer or continuing to pursue both fields?
Both are incredibly hard. I can't describe how thrilled I was to get my first commission to write a radio play. And, having devoted years of my life to writing it, knowing that THE GIDEON TRILOGY will be published in its entirety all over the world makes me so happy. No matter how wonderful your family thinks you are, it is only when you are commissioned that you dare think "yes, I can do this." I hope that I can go on to write more novels and scripts — but it all depends on my ideas being of interest to publishers and broadcasters. And you can't, as a writer, expect work to be tossed your way because of what you have done in the past.
What are the reasons for having different titles for the UK and US releases? Are the books popular in the UK for different reasons than they are in the US?
After the hardback publication of GIDEON THE CUTPURSE, Simon & Schuster (US) concluded that the title did not give young readers enough clues about what kind of novel they would find inside its covers and suggested using the titles which have subsequently been adopted. I was very happy for my US publishers to do what they felt was appropriate to reach young readers. Funnily enough, I have just been having a conversation with my English publishers who are considering changing not the individual titles but the umbrella title of THE GIDEON TRILOGY to suggest something to do with time travel. If the books are popular in either country I suppose it is because readers like the story and want to know what happens next — but I am the wrong person to ask!
Is there any talk of making these books into movies?
Very early days yet but I know that my agent has promised to send the final volume of the trilogy to certain film production companies when it is finished. So I shall keep my fingers crossed because I think the books are cinematic because of the way I have written them.
Prior to beginning the saga of Gideon what did you like to read, and what do you read most in your spare time now?
I did and still do read adult novels more than children's novels partly because I don't want to be influenced too much. I admire F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan... Though I have recently discovered the children's writer, Jonathon Stroud, and I think his BARTIMAEUS TRILOGY (I hope I've spelled that correctly) is terrific. The last adult novel I read was THE ROAD, by Cormac McCarthy, which was extraordinary.
How has writing the trilogy changed the way you feel about London?
I've tramped the streets so much — and often pretending to be one of my characters — that I feel London belongs to me. Also, when I tread on cobblestones that were laid centuries ago I feel an overpowering sense of being just one more human soul living out their life in this fantastic city.
Do you have plans for your next book after the trilogy? Would you ever write a story with a rural setting, such as where you grew up?
I do have plans both for a children's fantasy novel and a teenage novel which I may also write as a screenplay. I also have a secret ambition to write for the theatre. Finally, yes, there is a slim volume (adult) which has been composting away for years which is set in the country. It will touch on my love of gardens and gardening lore.
You have written a series that is adventurous, suspenseful, and fun to read. What do you hope young readers will take away from the Gideon trilogy?
When I was a child I wanted to get lost in a believable world, getting to know great characters and going on a kind of journey myself on the way. My need for stories was and still is so strong. I just hope that my novels are convincing enough to persuade some young readers to enter my world for a little while and find something to interest and move them. I intended to entertain, inform, surprise. I hope I did this from time to time.