Louise Fein

Louise Fein is the author of Daughter of the Reich, which has been published in thirteen territories, the international bestseller The Hidden Child, and The London Bookshop Affair. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from St Mary’s University. She lives in Surrey, UK, with her family.

Fein's new novel is Book of Forbidden Words.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I actually love the title, Book of Forbidden Words! I would love to take credit for it, but it was actually reached with collaboration with my editor. I was playing around with Forbidden Words, or The Forbidden Word, but she came up with Book of Forbidden Words, and I knew that was it. I do think it is a title that gives readers a good idea of what the book is about. It is a celebration of the freedom of speech and the power of the written word. The book is set in two very different time periods, four hundred years apart. Or perhaps they aren’t so different after all. I also feel the themes in the book echo all the way down the years to the present day.

As the title insinuates, there is a manuscript at the heart of this book, and three women who are connected with it. Lysbette Angiers, an ex-nun in the early 1500’s who writes the book, Charlotte Guillard, a Parisian printer who in 1553 preserves the book for future generations, and Milly Bennett who in 1950’s suburban New York, unencrypts the manuscript. Each of the women must fight for their right to have their voice heard, for their words and ideas to matter. Each woman risks everything in pursuit of this freedom, and all of them underestimate the lengths the powerful will go to, to silence them.

What's in a name?

Lysbette Angiers is from Bruges (now in Belgium) and I was careful to choose a name which was from that town in the early 1500’s. I do take time to choose names as I like to find something that is appropriate for their character. Lysbette is an unusual name, certainly today, but it is fitting because she is an unusual woman, particularly for her time. She was fortunate to be raised by a wealthy, powerful man who gave her the same rigorous education she would have received had she been a boy, which was certainly not the case for most women at that time.

Charlotte Guillard was in fact a real person. She was a Parisian printer of great repute and some of the works she printed may still be seen today. She was a formidable business woman who carved her way, not only in a man’s world, but she must have walked a tightrope so as not to come under the scrutiny of heretic hunters in Paris at that dangerous time.

Last but most definitely not least, Milly Bennett is the English housewife of an American pilot who served in the second world war. She is a GI bride, who travels back to America with him and their two small children. Milly struggles to fit in with the mothers she encounters in the Long Island town where they live, but she has her own secretive past, and there is much more to Milly than first meets the eye. When someone from her past brings with him a strange, encrypted manuscript, Milly embarks on a journey of discovery that will change her life forever.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

I think my teenage self would have been firstly delighted to know I am a published writer as that was my ultimate dream! However, the books I read back then were largely crime or thriller novels and I think I would have naturally thought that is what I would be writing. I did enjoy history, however, so perhaps I would not have been entirely shocked to know I would be writing historical fiction. I also cannot help but always introduce an element of mystery and suspense in my novels. And I still love reading thrillers!

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I actually find the beginnings and the endings easier to write than the middle! I usually have a very clear idea of how a book will start and end, but the middle part is rather fuzzier and it is easier to go off down rabbit holes. It depends on the book whether I change the beginning or the end more. I rewrote the start of my debut novel, Daughter of the Reich about twenty times before I got it right, however, the beginning of Book of Forbidden Words has changed very little from the first draft. The ending, however, has changed more than that of my previous books. Sometimes I learn about my characters as I’m writing and I realise that they might do something very different than the plan I originally had for them. But that is part of the joy of writing, I think.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

As a writer of historical fiction, I cannot help but be inspired by historical figures and events. I like to find lesser known, ordinary people who overcame incredible odds or obstacles to make a difference, however small, or to achieve their dreams or goals. I am also inspired by times of turbulence or rapid change which have resonance with today’s world, as these provide great settings for my stories. I am inspired by current political events, themes and concerns, and I try to find times and settings in history which have some sort of relevance. I always like to find stories of hope and resilience and where all people, however ordinary, matter.

Visit Louise Fein's website.

--Marshal Zeringue