The award-winning author talks Boswell, Botanists and Blythswood Square
Gill Sherry
My chat with Sara Sheridan is a timely one. Not only am I halfway through reading her novel, The Secrets of Blythswood Square, she’s also just been confirmed as a guest speaker at the Boswell Book Festival.
It’s mid-March and the newly announced Boswell programme is creating a buzz among booklovers the world over. Sara’s appearance at the festival stems from the reissue of her 2016 novel On Starlit Seas, which seems odd seeing as it’s a festival of biography and memoir.
“Because it’s a biography festival, in the past they haven’t invited many novelists. Slowly but surely, I think they’ve come to realise that some of us extend quite well into their programme.”
This is particularly true of Sara who is known for writing historical fiction based around real history and characters. On Starlit Seas, for example, is based on the biography of Maria Graham, a mathematician and travel writer in the 1820s. The Fair Botanists includes Sir Walter Scott, King George IV, and Robert Graham, the Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
“These real-life characters give authenticity to the story. In between what’s going on in real, recorded history, I weave fictional stories. In The Secrets of Blythswood Square, you’ll find David Octavius Hill, Robert Adamson and Jessie Mann at Rock House. That’s where the birth of Scottish photography happened.”
It’s interesting to hear Sara talk about the book that I’m currently reading. But I’m keen to learn why she decided to reissue On Starlit Seas.
“The book came out in 2016. It was brought out by a small publisher. It sold lots of copies, but they just decided they weren’t that interested in it. I think they were focusing on crime books at that time, so the rights came back to me.”
When her current publisher, Hodder, indicated their intention to commission two further books from Sara, she took the opportunity to suggest a third, On Starlit Seas, because it related to The Fair Botanists, one of the first books they had bought from her.
“They read it, and they said they’d like to republish it. They’ve put a new cover on it, and I’ve written a new historical note and done some editing, because since 2016 I’ve got some new tricks in my box! I haven’t really changed the story, but I think it reads better. Actually, it was a real privilege to be able to go in and improve it.”
From speaking with Sara, and from reading her book, it’s clear that extensive research is involved in her writing.
“You never stop researching! But I’m genuinely interested in all these people and all this stuff. On Starlit Seas is set against the backdrop of the chocolate industry in the 1820s, and so I just keep reading about it… even once the book is out! I visit libraries and archives regularly, I watch documentaries, I speak to people. In The Secrets of Blythswood Square, I drew heavily on the expertise of the staff at the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. The curators there very kindly guided me through the real history of photography, and erotic art and photography in Scotland.”
The fact that Sara often writes stories based in the same period does mean that she already has some knowledge of that era.
“I know who was on the throne, what you might want for breakfast, and what kind of underpants people wore… so I don’t have to research those things, but I will have to research how you would make an actual photograph.”
Does she enjoy the research side of things?
“I really love it, it’s the best job ever. I’m more of a reader than a writer, almost. I just want to find out what’s going to happen next. But I’m not a planner, so at the start of the book I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. I know some of the history, but I’m not sure what some of the characters are going to do.”
Sara’s first novel, Truth or Dare, was published in 1998. She’s now writing her 25th or 26th book (she’s lost count!), including nine Mirabelle Bevan Mysteries, two children’s picture books, and three non-fiction books.
“Some people just do the same thing… they find a genre and that’s their genre. But I get interested in different stuff. I’m also very suggestable. That’s how The Fair Botanists happened. It wasn’t my idea.”
Whosever idea it was, it went on to win Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2022. The book she’s currently working on, titled The Jewel Keepers, was basically the result of a drunken lunch with her editor.
“I had an idea for a book that was set in a zoo, and she said, ‘I hate it, I don’t care about your stupid penguins! I’d really like something with diamonds and gemstones. I think you need to write a book that’s got that kind of glamour about it.’ So I did.”
It’s the story of Sir Walter Scott discovering the Honours of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle, with a fictional tale woven through it. But you’ll have to wait until February next year to read it.
In the meantime, Sara is very much looking forward to the Boswell Book Festival. So what can her audience expect?
“Goodness knows! It very much depends on who’s interviewing me. When I talk, I tend to talk about living a creative life and what that’s like, how I create a framework of real history and then fit in characters who are fictional, and why I think history is such an important subject to write about in fiction. Everything in our culture, of course, comes from our history. I think that’s what we’ll be talking about. But you never can tell!”
I’m sure someone will ask who her favourite author is, so I get in first…
“One of my favourite historical novels, which his based on a real-life figure is Water Music by TC Boyle, which is the story of Mungo Park doing trips up the Niger. It’s a rumbling, rambunctious, exciting book that really brings Georgian Imperialism alive. He never wrote another book like it, and I mourn that.
“Scotland-wise, I also like Doorways in Drumorty by Lorna Moon. She was from Strichen in Aberdeenshire, and she left and wrote a series of short stories which are basically about Strichen. It was banned from Strichen Library!”
What about her own books? Is it possible for Sara to choose a favourite?
“The historicals are fun. The Mirabelles are great fun to do, though. But there isn’t one favourite. Some books I’ve enjoyed writing more than others. The Secrets of Blythswood Square was like a breeched birth, it was awful! But when it was finished, I was really pleased with it, and I am really proud of it.”
And rightly so. I may only be halfway through it, but it’s a real page-turner. I’m intrigued and captivated at the same time. Does it help, I wonder, that I’m reading the physical book rather than an eBook?
“A book is a story delivery system,” Sara declares. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a physical book, an eBook, or an audio book, as long as you’re getting your story.”
I hadn’t really thought of it like that. And as much as I’d like to hear more of Sara’s insights, there’s only time for a final few words about Boswell.
“We have so many book festivals in Scotland and they’re all different. They’re all just about the people who organise them, the space they’re in and the people that come along. I’m always excited to come to a new book festival and meet people and chat and listen. It’s a real privilege to hear and to meet other writers. I’m really looking forward to it.”
You can purchase all of Sara’s books from www.sarasheridan.com
