After a childhood spent acting professionally and training at a theatre school, Laura Madeleine changed her mind and went to study English Literature at Newnham College, Cambridge. The author of The Confectioner's Tale, she now writes fiction, as well as recipes, and was formerly the resident cake baker for Domestic Sluttery. She lives in Bristol, but can often be found visiting her family in Devon, eating cheese, and getting up to mischief with her sister, fantasy author Lucy Hounsom.Madeleine is the author of two new novels: Where the Wild Cherries Grow and The Confectioner's Tale.
From the author's Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Confectioner's Tale, and why did you set the novel in 1910 as well as 1988?Visit Laura Madeleine's website.
A: As happens with a lot of my work, the original idea for The Confectioner’s Tale had nothing to do with the story that now exists. I was driving around France in a campervan with my then-boyfriend during the summer of 2010, when I had just finished university.
It was July, the middle of a heat wave, and when we stopped in Saint-Émilion to cool off, we discovered a patisserie that sold canelés – little caramelized custardy pastries. I’d never seen them before, and so when we got home, I looked them up.
They have a fascinating history of popularity and rivalry, an official brotherhood and even secret recipes held in vaults! I was captivated by the artistry of patisserie, especially during the golden era of the Belle Époque, where aesthetics and luxury were...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: Where the Wild Cherries Grow.
Writers Read: Laura Madeleine.
My Book, The Movie: Where the Wild Cherries Grow.
--Marshal Zeringue