Rosie Thomas
The Illusionists is set late-Victorian London, and a music hall theatre. There’s a varied cast of performers – including a dwarf and an automaton - who are each closely connected behind the scenes as well as on stage, there’s magic and rivalry and I hope plenty of atmosphere and suspense, but most of all it’s a love story between Devil and Eliza. Devil is a traditional man of the time, whilst Eliza is struggling to be equal and independent without any role models. It’s a passionate relationship: I hope I have written it so there’s sympathy on both sides.
The book is set in 1870, so what attracted you to this period in history?
It was partly that it’s such a very atmospheric time in London, with Jack the Ripper and the rookeries and the gaslit streets, but also because of the new discoveries in science that were changing stage magic along with every other aspect of life, because improved public transport meant that people could move around more freely, and because improved social conditions meant that ordinary people began to have leisure and money to spend. It was a very fluid and highly charged period of history.
Please can you tell us a bit about your research process into the book.
A LOT of reading, which I loved – general history for background, transport, working class society, performance magic, dwarfism, automata, London topography, women’s rights… I spent almost a year collecting books and making notes. It was a different process from my previous books and the result is a different sort of novel. I think it’s more intricate and therefore a little bit more challenging in that more lies under the surface, but I hope that it repays the extra attention.
Please tell us about the character of Eliza.
She’s a modern woman! She wants to contribute to the world, she wants to live her own life, she believes in freedom and shuns dependency, but she also wants to love and be loved and to have her family, to be respectable yet also daring. She’s a mass of contradictions (like all of us) but she interested me so much because she was making all her choices just at the point in history where ordinary women began to have some power over their own destinies. A fascinating time to write about.
How do you always create characters that readers care about?
I hope I do. I do think about them all the time. I haven’t written a lot of historical fiction, and I really enjoyed presenting Eliza with dilemmas appropriate for her time that might also translate to the modern day. The big questions – love, identity, responsibility, honesty - are the same, I think, whoever or whenever we are.
You are a keen traveller so where is your favourite place to be?
In the mountains, with a view of high peaks. Preferably with some climbable rocks, a skiable slope and a glacier within reach.
How much has travelling aided your writing?
A great deal. I felt about half way through my writing career that I had used up all my personal experiences and insights, so I needed to get out and discover some more. There’s nothing like being in a strange place to open your eyes and ears.
All of your books are about to be published in eBook format so how excited are you about this?
I’m thrilled. I published my first novel more than 30 years ago and it’s a joy to see all those early books shined up in fresh covers, ready to reach a new audience.
What is next for you?
Ah. I’ll be finishing the sequel to THE ILLUSIONISTS later in the year. One or two readers have mentioned that the ending seems abrupt, but that’s because it’s not really the ending. To be continued…..
The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas is published by Harper Collins, £14.99 hardback