This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Welcome to our exclusive six-part series, which will see us chatting to the shortlisted authors of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014 every Friday. This week, Burial Rites author Hannah Kent joins us to talk about how Iceland’s last execution inspired her literary debut.
What inspired you to write your novel?
I lived in Iceland for a year when I was 17 years old, where I first heard of the true events surrounding that country's last execution. I became fascinated with the condemned woman, Agnes Magnusdottir. The murders she was convicted of were appalling, and the story was ripe with tragedy, which appealed to me then as a lonely exchange student. I experienced a strange feeling of affinity with Agnes, which soon led to a deeper curiosity about her personal story. Significantly, it was the lacunae I perceived in the historical narrative that compelled me to write about Agnes. There were so many absences in the accounts of the murders and execution, so much of her history that was unexplored. I was deeply unsatisfied with the suggestion that Agnes was unequivocally monstrous, and that her behaviour was a manifestation of this inherent wickedness. I wrote Burial Rites to discover something of her ambiguity and humanity.
How does it feel to be shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction?
Overwhelmingly wonderful – I find myself oscillating between disbelief and gratitude. Many of the writers I have long read and loved were first introduced to me by the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (in its previous incarnations), so it has great personal significance for me. I find it an absolute honour to be shortlisted in the company of such accomplished writers.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given as a writer?
The advice that has helped me wade through the various mires a writer must face are all beautiful in their simplicity. Read a great deal. Write as often as possible. Accept that doubt is part of it all. Work hard. Don't expect it to be easy. Keep calm. Carry on.Which female authors inspire you?
This is an impossible question to answer succinctly. Many female authors have inspired me for a multitude of reasons. I was a great imitator of E. Annie Proulx as a teenager. Margaret Atwood was an influence, and still is. When I'm writing I often return to Janet Frame's poetry and short fiction for inspiration – she has an extraordinary ability to render the familiar new again.
If you could recommend one book to a friend what would it be and why?
It depends on the friend, and why they need a recommendation. I enjoy the challenge of finding books for my sister, as she can lose interest in literary fiction. She loved Susan Hill's The Woman in Black, so I recently suggested that she read Jeanette Winterson's The Daylight Gate, which I adored. The book I find myself constantly recommending to strangers is Halldor Laxness's Independent.
Thanks, Hannah!