Caroline Beecham's Blog

Hello September!! Since its now officially spring, I thought I’d share an update on my latest projects, as well as recommendations of some books and TV series that I’ve enjoyed recently. The manuscript that I’m currently working on is another historical fiction (and although I’m doing research as I go along on this one rather than lots up front) I did make a trip to England recently. I visited a few different locations featured in the book and also the New Forest in Hampshire, home to one of the country houses that was the site of an Special Operations Executive ‘finishing school’. It was fascinating to see the real instruments and weapons that SOE agents used in the field, and get a sense of who they were and the work that was carried out. Here are a few teasers for you… including the gun agents carried, the wireless for transmitting behind enemy lines, and a glance at the parachute training that they needed to complete to get them there.

 

In London I also went to the DIVA exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Its a divine collection of costumes celebrating some of the most amazing and inspiring women of the past two centuries, with an emphasis on the entertainers who have managed to use their celebrity to further causes they believe in. From Vesta Tilly a male impersonator who pushed the boundaries for women in the 1890s, and Edith Craig (1910), costume and theatre designer who was a founder member of the feminist theatre company and lived with her lesbian partner, Christopher St John, to Josephine Baker, Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. From opera singers, actresses of the silent era, and Hollywood starlets. Then a second floor is devoted to Divas of the twenty first century, including Tina Turner (costume below), Rhianna, Pink, Sade, Adele, Whitney, and many more. And although there is a lot of glamour amongst the sparkle and glitter, it doesn’t detract from the very serious and very real achievements of the incredible icons on display; its quite an overwhelming and emotional experience.

 

What I’m reading…

Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver – I’ve just finished this remarkable novel and can’t recommend it highly enough. It might seem redundant recommending a book that has just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction but it’s looking like my favourite read of 2023 so I had to! It’s such a brilliant and beautifully written story, genius in its reinterpretation of David Copperfield, its unforgettable characters and its weaving together of their stories with topical events of poverty and drug addiction. There are too many beautiful passages and whip-smart lines of dialogue to choose any single one but the real triumph is how the novel reveals the complexity of human relationships through the troubled, beleaguered, toxic, generous, selfless or selfish, characters that inhabit its pages. It’s a coincidence that I’ve also just watched Painkiller, the Netflix series about the opioid crisis in America, that made it even more affecting to read Kingsolver’s novel as it gives another, albeit fictitious, insight into the victims as well as the perpetrators of corporate greed.

Warlight, Michael Ondatjee – set in post-WW2 London, this story centres around 14-year-old Nathaniel and his sister, Rachel, who are abandoned by their parents and left in the care of ‘The Moth’, an enigmatic figure. It’s unclear whether their new guardian is a criminal, or if any of his host of eccentric friends are, but they are depicted with such realism that you are committed to staying with the children and finding out the mystery and what happens to them.

The Fraud, Zadie Smith – I’ve just started this new novel, finding the premise intriguing. It’s based on real historical events and is described as a novel about truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain, fraud and authenticity. It’s inspired by a legal trial that divided Victorian England and raises moral questions, including who deserves to tell their story and who deserves to be believed. I visited the London Museum in Docklands earlier this year and saw the witness accounts of people who were impacted by the British slave trade and the human cost of empire building, so I’m looking forward to reading this one and intrigued by the techniques Zadie Smith uses in this unique storytelling. Zadie also narrates the audiobook which may be a plus for some fans.

What I’m watching…

Ten Pound Poms – I’ve not finished they yet so the jury is still out!

Your Honour, series 2 – I was a fan of the first series of this crime drama and this one didn’t disappoint; it’s full of thrilling and chilling surprises, and heart-stopping moments. The acting is excellent all round, from the ruthless Baxters to Bryan Cranston’s depiction of Michael Desiato, a former judge, whose life spirals away from him after his son accidentally kills a member of the Baxter family. Disappointing that a third series isn’t planned.

Dream Horse – feature film

I don’t often cry when I watch TV or films but this movie had me in tears. I’m not sure why as the plot is fairly predictable and formulaic, and while the cast included Toni Collette and Damien Lewis, there was a fair amount of overacting, but the film just got me! Maybe it was the beautiful horse, “Dream”, or the classic rags-to-riches storyline, or the will for the villagers to succeed amidst their daily struggles, but its a really affecting film. My guess is that its also because Dream Horse is based on the true story of a small group of villagers from remote Wales that come together to form a syndicate to buy a race horse, and their journey to the Welsh Grand National. While the actors do overplay the “feel-good” sentiment, there’s still a lot to enjoy in the underdog trumps and the community fighting spirit.

 

 

What I’m excited about…

Last month I was ‘Author of the Day’ on the Global Girls Online Book Club; if you’re not familiar with the GGOC then do head over the the website and check it out. Creator and host Jackie Russell has created a wonderful community of booklovers, readers and writers, and features regular live chats as well as a monthly book club read. My posts included background on my books, writing and inspiration, and it was a great way to connect with authors and readers around the world. It’s a private group but you can follow the link to apply to join and admin will get in touch with you. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063606669772 

In a couple of weeks I’ll be diving deeper into the craft of drama writing when I take part in an online drama writing course with Curtis Brown Creative in London. The tutor has a background in screenwriting historical drama so I’m really excited about getting this perspective and developing my series further. And next week I’ll be going to some sessions at the Rose Scott Women Writers’ Festival in Sydney. There are some great speakers and events so have a look https://www.thewomensclub.com.au/rswwf-1/rswwf-2023

Maybe see you there!

Caroline x

Walking in Esther’s footsteps

April included a busy trip to the UK and a side trip to Vienna to walk in Esther’s footsteps. It was great to finally visit the settings that I’d written about in the novel, ones that I had researched online and could now visit in person. Even though the sights and sounds and the smells would have been different in the 1930s, the beauty and scale of the city is unchanged and I could imagine the people who populated the streets then. I have already posted some reels and images on instagram and Facebook but here are a few of the main locations and why they were so important.

Esther visited Vienna University to get references for the academics that the Society were trying to bring to safety in Britain. And importantly, it is where Harry went, the Austrian musician and scientist that she fell in love with and wanted to save…

“Roger followed her into the Feststiege, where imposing marble columns towered above the grand stone staircase. They moved silently through to the library, passing busts of the university’s eminent alumni on the way to the wing that housed the rector’s office, while Esther’s nerves grew more frayed.” Page 48

Vienna University

 

Palais Albert Rothschild was a really important location in the city where Harry had to go and try to secure safe passage from Austria:

“It was just before dawn as he walked to the fourth district and joined the line that snaked past the gardens bordering the Plößlgasse, the street where the Palais stood. The scene at the Palais Albert Rothschild was more desperate than it had been the day before, with far longer queues and even more guards flanking the marble entrances as well as each of the doorways to the ballrooms and salons. He had performed at the Palais long before it was stolen from the Rothschild family and requisitioned by Eichmann as the Central Agency for Jewish Emigration. Harry had seen the neo-Renaissance building in its prime, when the parquet floors had been home to Louis XVI furniture, and the chords and notes of the Vienna Philharmonic had rung out instead of the orchestrion that the Nazis now insisted on playing. The notes that came from the machine reproducing the sound of an orchestra were juxtaposed ominously with the new inhabitants of the Palais; the inspiring and joyful music incongruous with the fear that now resided there. The faces of the people in the queue were stricken and terrified. It usually took several days, sometimes weeks, to process the paperwork needed to depart the country, but Hans had given Harry documents that would speed up the process, and now all he needed was his exit permit.” Page 165

Palais Albert Rothschild, Vienna

 

The Musikverein is a stunning Renaissance building and important music venue for concerts and orchestras so we couldn’t resist a concert by the historic Mozart orchestra who perform in traditional costume; luckily it was only the musicians that had to dress up and not us!

“The linden trees along the Ringstrasse were beginning to turn, their lime-green leaves transforming to a flaxen yellow, the cream-hued spring flowers a faded memory, together with the perfumed night air. Esther thought they still looked beautiful, a lush frame through which to view the exuberant rococo and neoclassical buildings that stood behind them. It had been nearly eighteen months since she’d walked through her favourite city, and over five hundred days since she had last seen Harry. She had been supposed to meet him after his rehearsal but had grown too fidgety waiting in her room, and so she’d sent a message to let him know she would wait for him outside the Musikverein. But once she reached the concert building and heard the rising pitch of the violins reverberate around the Golden Hall, she couldn’t resist making her way inside just as they began to tremolo before the horn signalled the beginning of the waltz. The Musikverein was a triumph of high Renaissance architecture, with caryatids, Greek columns and a temple roof. But Esther wasn’t looking at the crystal chandeliers and gilded mouldings: she was casting around for Harry— and there he was, at the edge of the string section, the sharp line of his jawbone visible as he tilted his   head, violin nestled under his chin.” Page 117

 

Musikverein, Vienna

 

And on day three we did all the things to keep the rest of the family happy, which included a visit to the Wiener Riesenrad, the giant ferris wheel that has been there since the 1940s, the Belvedere Palace, the Palm House, and plenty of schnitzel!

 

Sydney Writers Festival

Work on my fifth novel went slowly in May as a second round of Covid knocked me about although luckily I recovered enough to make it to Sydney Writers Festival last week. There were some fantastic sessions and the highlights were:

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE – Geraldine Brooks, Pip Williams and Sally Colin-James, each with their own fascinating story to tell on the origins of their story and great insights into their writing process:

Geraldine spoke about “the implausible truth from the past where you can know something but not everything.“ And to “research only as far as the story lets you go.”

Pip talked about how she stuck to known facts from history and used archives to elaborate ideas in her writing, and how maintaining a sense of curiosity while exploring questions was an extreme privilege.

Sally’s observations included how women have already been part of the past just not always part of history, in terms of how their stories are not recorded in the same way as men’s.

Geraldine Brooks, Pip Williams and Sally Colin-James on stage at Carriageworks with Kate Evans

 

JULIA GILLARD at Sydney Town Hall on that speech! What can I say; brilliant. She was warm, funny and such an inspiration.

 

ELEANOR CATTON in conversation with Beejay Wilcox about her new book, Birnam Wood. This was an incredibly open discussion about writing her new novel, putting on different mantles, the influence of Jane Austen, how she’s motivated to write by her fear of social media and the fact that our communications are mediated by algorithms that flatter and confirm us, and what this means for the future. Fascinating to hear about what influences and shapes her characters, her research into psychopaths and the difference between writing fiction and screenplays.

Eleanor Catton in conversation with Beejay Wilcox

 

IN PRAISE OF DIFFICULT WOMEN – Anne Casey-Hardy and Fiona Kelly McGregor with Sophie Cunningham on creating the ‘difficult women’ that populate their books 

MARKUS ZUSAK: BRINGING THE MESSENGER TO THE SCREEN – really insightful discussion with Markus Zusak and executive producer/writer, Sally Lambert, on the joys and challenges of adapting from book to screen and the importance of relationships, and leaving your ego at the door.

But of course the real highlight of these occasions is sharing it with friends; thanks for coming Dianne, Maria, Belinda, Sarah, Michelle and Jane!

 

Happy reading and writing until next time,

Warmest wishes,

Caroline x

It’s only one week until I head to Victoria for a book tour that’s going to take me from Shepparton, Kerang and Echuca Libraries in northern Victoria, down to Melbourne’s Frankston Library and Dymocks Camberwell’s First Tuesday Book Club in Hawthorn. I will certainly be clocking up some kms (and drinking lots of coffee) and am really looking forward to seeing country Victoria for the first time as well as taking part in a special event at Echuca Library as part of International Women’s Day 2023 where I’ll be in conversation with fellow Allen & Unwin author, Maya Linnell. We’re going to be talking about creating female characters, the craft of writing, women that inspire us as well as heaps of other things and answering questions from the audience. Maya is also doing a workshop on Saturday 4th so book quickly if you want to discover some of her craft secrets! It will also be an important day to talk about female pioneers and my latest novel, Esther’s Children, because it’s an important date for the character and society that inspired the book; 2023 its the 90th anniversary of the year they started to bring thousands of academic refugees to safety. They are still doing the same valuable work today and I’m looking forward to sharing more about Esther, my research and writing, and the love story at the heart of the novel.

 

 

After IWD2023 I will be heading to Melbourne on Monday 6th March to Frankston Library and then taking part in Dymocks Camberwell’s First Tuesday Book Club on Tuesday 7th March with Kylie Ladd, I’ll Leave You With This, Kate Solly, Tuesday Evenings with the Copeton Craft Resistance, Kate Gregorevic, Before Dementia: 20 Questions You Need to Ask, Paul Dalgarno, A Country of Eternal Light, and Chris Cheers, The New Rulebook. Bookings are through Eventbrite and include a glass of wine, canapes and your choice of book; sounds pretty good to me!  https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/first-tuesday-book-club-march-2023-with-special-guest-authors-tickets-544919357467

 

 

You can catch me on the following dates:

Friday 3rd March at 6pm – Shepparton Library, 41-43 Marungi Street, Shepparton, VIC 3630 | Free event with bookings through email shepparton@gvlibraries.com.au or 1300 374 765. Collins Booksellers will be selling books. https://www.gvrlc.vic.gov.au/event/!/133/event/author-talk-caroline-beechamSaturday 4th March at 10.30am – Kerang’s Sir John Gorton Library, Murray Valley Highway & Shadforth Street, Kerang, VIC 3579 | Bookings at Kerang Library or call 03 5452 1546 https://www.gannawarra.vic.gov.au/News-Media/Historical-fictional-author-coming-to-the-Gannawarra?fbclid=IwAR1yhroRdQMitPPMiGUlmXzvj3vB86uIRP3qvKSm3YxgvkNMJqFB8j8IpK0Sunday 5th March at 2.15pm – Echuca Library, in conversation with Maya Linnell as part of a special event for International Women’s Day 2023 | VIC Bookings essential at Campaspe Library or www.campaspe.vic.gov.au/library or call 03 5481 2400. Collins Booksellers will be selling books. https://www.campaspe.vic.gov.au/Our-council/News-media/Latest-news/International-Womens-Day-2023-at-Campaspe-LibrariesMonday 6th March at 5.30pm – Frankston Library, 60 Payne Street, Frankston, VIC 3199 | Bookings at Frankston Library or call 03 9784 1020. https://library.frankston.vic.gov.au/Whats-On/Caroline-Beecham Tuesday 7th March at 6.15pm – First Tuesday Book Club presented by Dymocks Camberwell with authors Kylie Ladd, Kate Solly, Dr Kate Gregorevic, Paul Dalgarno and Chris Cheers at Rivoli Cinemas, 200 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn East, Vic 3123 | Bookings through Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/first-tuesday-book-club-march-2023-with-special-guest-authors-tickets-544919357467

I had two books published over the last couple of years and like many authors during lockdown, was unable to travel, attend events for the new novels and help promote them. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to soon discover a new part of the country and to meet new readers, librarians, booksellers and other authors. Hope to catch you somewhere! x

Hello and happy 2023! I hope that you’ve had a good break and that whatever the year ahead looks like, that it will be gentle and joyful. Those are the feelings and emotions that I’m seeking out after what feels like a gruelling couple of years; they were intense and hard work but ultimately rewarding. There were great rewards with seeing family overseas and reconnecting with friends, a new book published, and a new home to move into, but the last few months of 2022 was also a time really needed for valuable reflection and reenergising. Now I’m ready and excited for the year ahead, which includes a few professional things that I can share. Firstly, this new craft book is in preparation of a TV writing course that I start next week at AFTRS. While there are many similarities between TV and novel-writing, there are also fundamental differences, as well as in the way the reader or viewer responds to the story and character, so I’m looking forward to developing my drama writing craft and grappling with some of those differences as I adapt one of my novels for the small screen. I’m really excited about learning new things and meeting new people…

 

 

The second piece of news is that I will be visiting Victoria in March 2023 for a library tour and to take part in a special event for International Women’s Day on Sunday 5th March at Campaspe Library. I’m really looking forward to travelling in a part of the state that I’ve longed to visit and to meeting and talking to readers and librarians. These are the dates so far for the libraries I’ll be visiting:

 

 

And thirdly, there’s also my novel in progress, another hidden history but this time a suspenseful mystery inspired by the true story of a brave female agent who goes undercover for a specific task and discovers something far more sinister. It’s a story of intrigue and betrayal set in the film world of the 1940s and Gene Tierney is amongst the varied and beautiful images on my mood board; I think it’s time for a little glamour and escapism, don’t you?

 

Actress Gene Tierney, photograph by Philippe Halsman

 

What I’m reading…

I’m trying to read more widely this year and not just focus on historical fiction so my current reads include:

Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen – the 2022 Stella prizewinning debut is a mix of poetry and essays confronting an unreconciled nation. Its quite brilliant and offers truths about the colonial past and hope for the future with poems such as Learning Bundjalung on Tharawal: “It is hard to unlearn a language: to unspeak the empire, to teach my voice to rise and fall like landscape, a topographic intonation”

The Stranger, Kathryn Hore – described as a compelling female western this is an immersive and visceral read; you can feel the heat, hunger and desperation of a town living on the edge of civilisation and running out of food, and sense the bristling hairs of the town’s male inhabitants when the female outsider arrives…

The Sun Walks Down, Fiona McFarlane – I’ve only just started this but another immersive read where the landscape is not just setting but character too; evocative of the Dust Bowl in Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon – listening to this on Audible and intrigued by the atmospheric descriptions of 1945 Barcelona and the quest of young Daniel who seeks the works of a mysterious author. First impressions are that this is a captivating story beautifully written, and there are also echoes of the boy and young blind girl in All The Light We Cannot See, another favourite read…

 

What I’m watching…

Happy Valley – late to the party on this one but enjoying the tense British crime series set in West Yorkshire written and created by Sally Wainright. Gritty realistic drama at its best with a wonderful cast that  includes James Norton before his roles in Grantchester and War & Peace.

Emily in Paris – I binge watched the last series when I had Covid and it brought a bit of humour, glamour and armchair travel, which frankly was a lifesaver! Call My Agent still gets my vote for “location TV” but Emily In Paris delivers on the sugarcoated romance, fashion and Paris fix that we all need from time to time.

Looking for a historical drama series along the lines of Rebellion if anyone has any recommendations…

 

What I’m excited about…

Visiting Elevate, the free summer festival hosted on the Cahill Expressway, on Gadigal Land. There is a whole program of events for family, food and entertainment from 3-7 January

And events I’ve booked for the Sydney Festival that include art, music, dance and theatre; Antarctica, Frida Kahlo: The Life of an Icon, Tracker and the fabulous Spanish flamenco dancer, Sara Baras.

 

It’s worth celebrating that artists are able to perform again and that we can share in these immersive experiences. Whatever you are doing this January, I hope its gentle and joyful, and if you do have time to drop me a line then I’d love to know what you’re reading or watching too.

Very best wishes,

Caroline xx

With September only a few days away I thought I had better hurry up with my blog of the most notable books of 2022 so far! It has been a fantastic year of reading with so many outstanding new releases and here are nine particularly notable ones that I can highly recommend. I don’t know about you but the only way I have managed to stay on top of my reading pile is by listening to more audiobooks while out walking and there are three included here. Laurel Lefkow narrated Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace and brought this searing family drama to life, making the world so vivid and the difficulties the characters face so much more corporeal. It’s a novel about many things; family, love, abuse and inter-generational trauma, as well as about longing and loyalty and is a disturbing and tender read. I also listened to Great Circle, Maggie’s Shipstead’s epic novel inspired by New Zealand female aviator, Jean Batten. It’s dual storyline and tells the brilliant story of golden age aviatrix, Marian Graves, and present day actress, Hadley Baxter, as they chart their own thrilling course through tumultuous lives, loves and adventures. The sense of drama and destiny, of their shared courage and self-determination reach a satisfying conclusion and sense of lives lived to the full. The novel was short-listed for the 2021 Booker Prize and the audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Alex McKenna. Karen Joy Fowler’s Booth was long-listed for the 2022 Booker Prize and tells the story of John Wilkes Booth and his family illuminating the spectacle of their lives behind the theatrics and the scandals. There were a couple of points where the pace slows as it takes time to get to know the different characters through their multiple points of view but the reward is in the detailed settings and sense of time and place.

 

 

My first book of 2022 was Anita Heiss’s Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, a powerful story of love, bravery, and belonging. It’s a story of dispossession but also an intimate portrait of female friendship and loyalty. The Bradleys are white settlers in Gundagai in 1852 and Wagadhaany is a young Gundagai woman enslaved to the family who her father helped rescue from a flood. The story centres around the relationship between well-intentioned Quaker, Louisa Bradley and Wagadhaany, and the tensions of a friendship built on inequality and choreographed by the imbalance of that power. It’s a thought provoking book that asks many questions of the reader, including whether a relationship based on such inequality can ever succeed. One of the joys is that there is the sense of a real connection between the women and a resulting sadness that this might not ever be realised, even though, for a brief period of time they are a solace to each other.

There are two stand-out debuts on my list too, firstly Lizzie Pook’s novel, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter. It’s an incredibly atmospheric novel with vivid descriptions of the fictional town of Bannin Bay in Western Australia. As a long time visitor to Broome I recognised the landscapes and skies so vividly brought to life, and really appreciated how the detailed prose, with its original metaphors and imagery gave a palpable sense of time and place. It’s not just the settings that are so well depicted; the Brightwell family and the cast of characters that inhabit Bannin are drawn with realism and layered history. In the same way that Where The Crawdads Sing has been enjoyed as eco-escapism, this is part of the appeal of this debut and so it was no surprise to learn that Lizzie is a travel writer.

Lizzie Pook’s debut novel

The other debut novel is The Whalebone Theatre by Julia Quinn, a book described by Sarah Winman as ‘Actually, a tour de force. It has all the makings of a classic.’ Who am I to disagree with Sarah Winman! Or Francis Spufford, whose blurb I particularly loved: ‘A book that will be loved unreasonably and life-long.’  The Whalebone Theatre sweeps you along with its sense of adventure and fun and makes you wish you could join the cast of irresistible characters on one of their esoteric outings or any number of unconventional gatherings or amateur theatre productions. There are parts of the book that are heart-breaking but for the most part there is such an original charm to the story of the Seagrave family and their relationship with a whale that washes up on a nearby beach, setting of a series of events. There is a particular warmth to the Seagrave children; Cristabel, Digby and The Veg that runs through from the early chapters and their transformation into adulthood and the fate that World War II creates for them. If you enjoyed Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words, Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent, or Bridget Collins The Binding, this is definitely one to add to your book pile!

Kate Quinn never disappoints with her books inspired by female heroines and The Diamond Eye is no exception with a story based on a real World War II deadly female sniper. The story is set in snowbound Russia and Ukraine as student and mother, Mila Pavlichenko, gains a reputation for her lethal skill, then is sent to America on a propaganda tour after she becomes a national heroine. There are compelling early chapters on the eastern front where Mila displays her humanity and resolve, and a love story that segues into those set in America, in a satisfying story of heroism, of self-sacrifice, and of a mother doing what is best for her child.

Meg Waite Clayton’s The Postmistress of Paris and Julie Orringer’s The Flight Portfolio were both memorable historical fiction based on the true story of the rescue of artists form France during the Second World War. Orringer’s is inspired by the American journalist Varian Fry who attempted to save the lives and work of Jewish artists and intellectuals fleeing the Holocaust, while Waite Clayton’s novel centres around the character of Nanee, inspired by the adventurous American heiress, Mary Jayne Gold, who worked with Varian Fry smuggling artists and intellectuals out of France. They are both set largely in Marseille, France, encompassing sweeping romances and high-stakes danger with rescues that include daring schemes under the guise of legitimate relief operations. Beautifully crafted novels with gripping plots, complex characters and involving platonic relationships as passionate as the romantic ones, each novel resurrects the bravery of these individuals who fought for the freedom of refugees. If you’ve read my new novel, Esther’s Children, you might see why I devoured these two books!

I’m not sure there are too many avid readers who haven’t come across The Paris Bookseller, based on the life and love of Sylvia Beach who battled the odds to open her Paris bookshop and publish James Joyce’s Ulysses. It’s a celebration of love, the triumph of friendship, the influence of literature and books and the struggles of artists and those passionate about their endeavours. Kerri Maher’s novel was a revelation for me as I had no idea about this true story and it inspired me to visit the bookshop, Shakespeare and Company, in April, along with hundreds of other tourists!

Shakespeare and Company, Paris, April 2022 The setting of Kerri Maher’s The Paris Bookseller

I hope this has given you some ideas or a useful insight on a possible next read. What have you read so far this year that you haven’t been able to put down? I would love to hear your recommendations so please send me a note in the comments below…

Thanks for reading!

Caroline x

Real Stories and The Home Front

While there are numerous books, films and TV programs on men and machines from the Second World War, I came across so many interesting stories about women and life on the Home Front that hadn’t been told.

I was intrigued to learn about these British Restaurants and knew there was a story there, although my first thought was that it would be too difficult; how would you approach writing about people living on rations and make it sound appealing? It was the experience working in my parent’s restaurants growing up that gave me the answer; you become like a family, working as a team, building relationships with regulars, dealing with daily dramas—even when it’s not wartime!

You become part of a community and I realised that it was through this microcosm that Maggie’s story could be told.

As well as viewing Second World War art, background reading and referencing original artist war diaries, I also visited the locations that were important settings for the book, such as the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the British Library. And also the physical locations in London that the characters inhabit: the bustling streets of Piccadilly, Paddington and Bayswater where I also once lived.

But Interviewing artists was key to understanding how Eleanor and Jack might have thought and worked and I was grateful to be able to talk to some contemporary artists who have worked as war artists more recently: Wendy Sharpe, Josh Yeldham and British Military artist David Rowlands. Australian artists Bronwyn Woodley and Dean Cross also talked generously about method, process and more generally, providing a great insight for a non-artist as well as specialist knowledge that helped build my characters.

The Second World War artworks were very revealing, in particular pictures by Evelyn Dunbar, Laura Knight, Doris Zinkeisen, Edward Ardizzone and Anthony Gross, many of which are on view through the Imperial War Museum. The Portrait Gallery is where the committee met and their archives also provided a wealth of research including the War Pictures by British Artists booklets that are featured in the book.

Pinterest was a useful tool to collect images and research material and I came across this picture of an extremely handsome air force officer who turned out to be quite a strong influence . . .

Follow Eleanor’s Secret Pinterest

The Real Story

My interest in the role of war artists grew when I discovered how the fate of many British artists changed dramatically from the outset of the Second World War; with fewer artworks being bought, and less illustrations and lithographs for books and magazines, their livelihoods virtually disappeared. The War Artists’ Advisory Committee was set up with the stated aim to record the war, although it was well known that they were also protecting a generation of artists from the frontline. But amongst the four hundred artists on the scheme only a handful were women, and none that went to work overseas alongside the men. This was a total imbalance compared to other roles that women took on and I imagined there would have been women who wanted to; Eleanor quickly became one of them.

As well as the powerful artwork that was produced by the war artists, there was some very moving narrative that inspired me to want to write about the artists:

‘What did it look like? They will ask in 1981, and no amount of description or documentation will answer them. Nor will big, formal compositions like the battle pictures which hang in palaces; and even photographs, which tell us so much, will leave out the colour and the peculiar feeling of events in these extraordinary years. Only the artist with his heightened powers of perception can recognise which elements in a scene can be pickled for posterity in the magical essence of style. And as new subjects begin to saturate his imagination, they create a new style, so that from the destruction of war something of lasting value emerges.’

Published 3rd May 2022
https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/Esthers-Children-Caroline-Beecham-9781760879501

I am excited to share the news that my fourth novel will be published by Allen & Unwin in May 2022. It’s another Second World War story and this time I have taken inspiration from the untold story of the extraordinary life of Esther Simpson, who helped rescue thousands of academic refugees from death and persecution, and yet struggled to save the man she loved. I’m looking forward to sharing more about Esther and her life and work in the lead up to publication but here is a little about the story.

From the picturesque streets of pre-war Vienna to Britain’s atmospheric cities in the grip of war, Esther’s Children is the perfect read for fans of Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network, and Kelly Rimmer’s The Warsaw Orphan.Austria, 1936: Esther ‘Tess’ Simpson works for a British organisation that rescues academics from the threatening Fascist and anti-Semitic regimes taking hold in Europe. On a dangerous trip to Vienna to help bring aid to Europe’s threatened Jewish scholars Esther meets Harry Singer, a young Jewish academic and musician, and they fall in love.

Tess works tirelessly to rescue Jewish academics and scientists from across Europe, trying to find positions for them in Britain and America. In 1938 she secures employment for Harry at Imperial College. Their love affair intensifies as the world heads into war, yet they are separated once again as Britain moves to intern European refugees.

With Harry detained on the Isle of Man while still waiting for news of his parents, Esther and the Society plead with the government for the interned scientists’ release. When Harry is eventually liberated, he discovers that his parents have fought their own path to freedom in America and he is forced to make an impossible choice: stay with Esther and turn his back on his parents, or follow them to reunite his family.

A gripping novel of love, courage and an indomitable woman.

Praise for Finding Eadie:

‘A riveting, heart-stopping read that features fascinating insight into London’s wartime publishing world.’ – Woman’s Day

‘[Beecham’s] characters are likeable and real, her writing is engaging and the subject matter is gripping.’ – The Weekly Times

‘This moving story of Alice’s fearless pursuit of her baby contains all the ingredients of a spy thriller…A wonderful page-turner with great relevance for our times.’ – The Chronicle

Preorder the novel at bookshops and online.

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