It’s Day Five of Home Grown Talent Week! Today we’re with award-winning historical fiction writer Margaret Skea, and her tale of the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597.
Margaret Skea is an award-winning historical fiction writer, receiving the Beryl Bainbridge Best 1st Time Novelist Award in 2014 for her debut Turn the Tide. Fans include Jeffrey Archer who commends her quality of writing and outstanding research. A House Divided is the eagerly awaited sequel of Turn the Tide and is a sweeping tale of compassion and cruelty, treachery and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of feuding clans, the French Wars of Region and the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597.
Margaret Skea on A House Divided
What inspired you to write your novel?
A House Divided is the second book in what was always intended to be a trilogy ending in Ulster during the Plantation period. The original idea for the trilogy was sparked by research into the Montgomerie family history during which I discovered a footnote in family papers mentioning a massacre in 1586 of members of the Montgomerie family by a group of Cunninghames.
How have you established a sense of place within your writing?
This is really important for me. I visit sites wherever possible, drive routes, stopping at key points to check what is visible in any direction, clamber up hillsides and pour over maps, both old and new. For example the shoreline at Irvine now is different from the way it was in the late 16th century. I also have a noticeboard on the wall with maps and photographs for instant referral.
What was the most interesting thing that happened to you during the writing of this book?
I had a one-year lay-off in the middle of writing due to circumstances beyond my control, and found afterwards that it was incredibly difficult to pick up the thread again. However a lady, whom I didn’t know, overheard me telling a friend that I wished I could maroon myself on a desert island to try and kick-start the writing, and immediately offered me the keys to an empty cottage out ‘in the sticks’. It was furnished with a portable gas heater, a microwave, a kettle, a 16-inch diameter garden table and a chair, and I was able to write there for 6 weeks before builders moved in to renovate it. It was exactly what I needed – as I drove up the single track road every day I found that my brain switched into writing mode and the story began to flow.
*To what extent have your personal experiences influenced this book?
Growing up in Ulster during The Troubles I always knew that I would like to write about conflict and the impact that living with that different ‘normality’ has on family and on relationships as well as the opposing pressures of loyalty versus integrity.
What do you hope readers will take from your book?
Enjoyment – I hope that they’ll find it a good read. I want readers to feel that in some sense they have been transported to a different time and place and have temporarily been immersed in the world of 16th century Scotland. Also, I hope that I have left readers with something to ponder – for example issues such as the dangers of tribalism and prejudice, the price of courage and the importance of personal integrity.
At the Reading Agency we aim to support people on their reading journey throughout their lives. Why is reading for pleasure important to you, and how do you choose what to read?
I read primarily for relaxation and enjoy immersing myself in other lives, particularly in other places and times. I want to read books that have an engaging story, and writing that is of a high quality, but still accessible. And while I like to be moved or be made to cry, I don’t want to read something that leaves me with horrible or disturbing images that I can’t get out of my head.
Do you have any tips for people looking to take up writing for the first time?
Go for it, but don’t expect your first efforts to be good. Most successful writing has been drafted and re-drafted multiple times. Think of your first drafts like filling a tray full of sand, which you can then, through the editing process, sculpt into a castle.
Most of your characters were real people. Does that present difficulties when writing fiction?
There are obvious constraints when writing about people who actually lived. I personally don’t believe I should damage someone’s reputation even though they have been dead for 400 years. So I try to remain true to any known facts and when elaborating or developing a character beyond what is known, I seek to remain consistent to it. I also strive to ensure that the characters are not 21st century people in 16th century dress and that they are judged by the standards of their own time and not ours.
How much of the story is fact and how much fiction? How do you approach the task of blending them together?
This is perhaps the most difficult aspect for me, because the novels, though springing from historical events and involving (mostly) historical characters, are nevertheless 90% fiction. My self-imposed guidelines are that everything I write must be possible and plausible, as well as consistent with known history and the general period background.
Brechin Library Reading Group on A House Divided: “Detailed, historical and light”.
Brechin Library Reading Group has been meeting for over seven years once a month to have a coffee and blether about the book they have been reading. In seven years they have never all had the same opinion about a book or unanimously liked or loathed a title. There is a mix of ages, sexes and preference of book genre. Everyone’s favourite thing about being in book club is that they read books they would never have picked up off the shelf and have found themselves enjoying them, they also love the discussion and varied opinions.
The main themes discussed by the group after reading A House Divided were the historical background to the book, the witch trials, and the book’s ending.
The group agreed that as a historical novel it will definitely appeal to lovers of this genre, with great attention to detail and absolutely crammed with drama. There is anxiety rising and falling throughout the novel, the majority enjoyed it and found it a good read. The group felt that perhaps the author could have developed her own spirit within the genre further. It was agreed that fans of historical fiction would enjoy the novel.
Get involved
Find out more about A House Divided by Margaret Skea, published by Sanderling Books.
Read about all the fantastic Scottish authors taking part in Home Grown Talent Week.
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