Interview with Helen Hollick

Today I'm really excited about a visit with Helen Hollick, Author of The Forever Queen.  If you haven't had a chance to read this novel yet, I encourage you to do so.  It's a fabulous recounting of the life of Emma of Normandy. 

1. Welcome to History and Women, Helen. Can you tell us a little about your novel?

The year is 1002 and a young girl, Emma, is sent from Normandy to become the wife of a man more than twice her age, Æthelred II, King of England. The moment they meet Emma knows that she loathes him. Despite his ineptitude as king, his indifference and sometimes cruel treatment, Emma bore him two sons, Edward and Alfred, and a daughter, and discovered the inner strength to survive. Her position as Queen became to be the most important thing to her; her crown becomes something to cling to at whatever cost. And the cost proves to be high, for Emma must face Danish invasion and exile – and to remain queen, send her sons to Normandy, knowing she will probably never see them again.

Her life is tough, full of tragedy and trauma, despair and danger – but with her second husband, Cnut of Denmark, she is to find the love she craves, and a new beginning as his queen.

Until sorrow, again, hits hard.

2. What inspired you to write a novel about a woman in this period of history?

I “discovered” Emma while writing I Am the Chosen King (to be published by Sourcebooks in March 2011, first published as Harold the King in the UK) – the 1066 story of the Battle of Hastings. I became fascinated by her and decided to write her own story as A Hollow Crown, which eventually became The Forever Queen when Sourcebooks published it this month.

Emma was a shrewd woman who learned to manipulate her power in order to maintain England's peace and prosperity, as well as her own position of authority. I found her to be every bit as interesting as that more famous queen – Eleanor of Aquitaine, yet few people had ever heard of Emma. I thought it about time someone put that right!

3. What hardships did women face in this particular century and what lessons can today's woman learn from it?

Probably the greatest hardship was childbirth. The mortality rate for women – until very recently – was something like four out of ten women died while giving birth. With no birth control or pain killer for labour, a woman had no choice but to endure – for the begetting as well as the birthing!

Marriage was often contracted when a girl was quite young; age 13 – 15 was quite common. Life was hard for a woman throughout history – I don’t think we realize just how much easier it is for us today!

4. Where do you get your inspirations for a novel?

It depends on what I am writing. The Forever Queen came from writing Harold the King/I Am the Chosen King – which in turn came from wanting to set history right about what we think we know about the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Much of that history was written as propaganda by the Norman Conquerors. I wanted to write the English version – which is probably nearer the truth.

For my Sea Witch novels (pirate-based history adventure, think Sharpe mixed with Indiana Jones but at sea), I became interested in the history of pirates after falling for Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow. While I enjoyed researching the 1700’s and the “Golden Age of Piracy,” I couldn’t find any novels to satisfy the “fun” side, as depicted in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movies, The Curse of the Black Pearl. There were plenty of “straight” nautical fiction, but most was based around the Napoleonic wars. Beyond Frenchman’s Creek, there was nothing that consisted of good, adventure fun, or had a touch of believable fantasy. So I decided to write my own. Jesamiah Acorne was born because I couldn’t find the books I wanted to read!

5. Can you describe a typical writing day?

I’m an owl not a lark, so I rarely get out of bed before 9.30 – and I often stay there listening to BBC Radio 4 of a morning, The Today Programme, the Book of the Week and Woman’s Hour. I am also a keen Archers fan, a Sunday morning lie-in treat when the omnibus edition is aired. The Archers is a long running radio drama centered around typical English village life.

I always answer my e-mails first, then check Facebook, have a quick chat on Twitter and ensure all is well on my various blogs – adding a new post as necessary. After lunch I’ll perhaps write a new blog, my monthly journal, and update my Weather Wise Diary Blog (a quick daily entry about the passing seasons). Then to work, depending on what needs doing – editing The Forever Queen and I Am the Chosen King has rather taken up my time recently, but I have also been researching the history of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1719 for the fourth Sea Witch Voyage – as well as researching the history of North Devon, where this story is mostly located.

I usually write until late at night/early hours of the morning. I rarely watch TV unless there is something worth watching!

6. Can you tell us about any other novels you are working on?


I plan to do a follow-up to I Am The Chosen King which will make this and The Forever Queen a trilogy. I’ve been putting this off because I loathe Duke William of Normandy and did not have the enthusiasm to write a novel about the aftermath of Hastings.

However, Sourcebooks bringing these first two novels out and giving them a new lease of life has inspired me to carry on.

I intend to start researching (and then writing) next year, after I have finished Ripples in the Sand, the fourth Sea Witch Voyage.

In this forthcoming Sea Witch book, Captain Jesamiah Acorne is in trouble again (trouble follows him like a ships wake) He gets entangled in a smugglers’ ring and the uprising of a new Jacobite rebellion – there are people who would prefer t see James III on the throne, not George I.

Meanwhile his woman, Tiola Oldstagh who has the Craft of a Wising Woman (a white witch) must try to discover why Jesamiah’s life is being threatened by the Goddess of the Sea, Tethys, who wants him for herself. To do so, Tiola must look into the past –where she makes some dangerous, and traumatic discoveries.

While there is an element of “fantasy” in my Sea Witch tales, I prefer to keep it within the bounds of plausability. Tiola is described as a Witch, but not the Harry Potter wand waving kind, she is more in touch with the natural elements of the Earth, a healer and a midwife.

Historical adventure to be enjoyed but not taken seriously. A full to the scuppers sailor’s yarn adventure!

THE FOREVER QUEEN BY HELEN HOLLICK – IN STORES NOVEMBER 2010

What kind of woman becomes the wife of two kings, and the mother of two more?

Saxon England, 1002. Not only is Æthelred a failure as King, but his young bride, Emma of Normandy, soon discovers he is even worse as a husband. When the Danish Vikings, led by Swein Forkbeard and his son, Cnut, cause a maelstrom of chaos, Emma, as Queen, must take control if the Kingdom—and her crown—are to be salvaged. Smarter than history remembers, and stronger than the foreign invaders who threaten England’s shores, Emma risks everything on a gamble that could either fulfill her ambitions and dreams or destroy her completely.

Emma, the Queen of Saxon England, comes to life through the exquisite writing of Helen Hollick, who shows in this epic tale how one of the most compelling and vivid heroines in English history stood tall through a turbulent fifty-year reign of proud determination, tragic despair, and triumph over treachery.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Hollick lives in northeast London with her husband, daughter and a variety of pets, which include several horses, cats and two dogs. She has two major interests: Roman / Saxon Britain and the Golden Age of Piracy--the early eighteenth century. Sourcebooks Landmark will release the next chapter on Helen’s 1066 saga, I Am the Chose King, in Spring 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.helenhollick.net/.