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Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.​  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

The Communist’s wife: Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea. Blog tour review and Q&A.

2/5/2015

9 Comments

 
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Lizzie Burns is a Manchester millworker, Irish by background, with no family save her hectoring elder sister, Mary. When Mary takes up with the mill owner’s son, Frederick, Lizzie is suspicious. Does Mr Engels genuinely admire the proletariat, or does he have baser instincts in mind? As she later opines (p37):

Boys kept like monks by their mothers go one of two ways: they turn womanly or they turn wild. Fredrick’s rearing among the Calvins – kept behind curtains drawn tight and doors too thick for the world’s vices to get in – has done nought for him but disease his head with what it’s been deprived of, and now look at him: single-minded and seeing no ends that aren’t low. He keeps pictures. He makes foreign requests.

Yet, despairing of her prospects with the drink-dependent Irishman, Moss, the ever-practical Lizzie sees the merit of letting a rich man to pay the bills. Following her sister’s death, she moves with Mr Engels down to London to live as his wife.

Like Carol Ann Duffy in her poetry collection, The World’s Wife, Gavin McCrea subverts our perceptions of a significant (male) historical figure by portraying him through the eyes of the women close to him. And what a compelling guide Lizzie proves to be, a proud woman, despite her humble beginnings, with a natural intelligence, despite her lack of education, and a lively wit. Most of all, she’s never in awe of her illustrious partner (p104):

‘Blessed be, Frederick, for a man who claims to know the destiny of mankind, you understand diddly-dick about the laws of womenfolk.’
Where the greatest crime is to have your own mind.

Escorting the reader through the streets of Victorian England, from her grand house in Primrose Hill to the ale houses and churches and slums, Lizzie contemplates her own place in the world. And we wonder with her, whether any of the men have the answers: Moss in with the Fenians battling for an independent Ireland while Karl Marx, financed by Engels, sits in his study composing the blueprint for a more egalitarian future.

If you think a novel about the origins of communism might make for a dry read, think again. Having vastly enjoyed it, I was delighted when the author agreed to participate in an annethology debut novelist Q&A, especially when this was incorporated into the launch blog tour. So, enough with my words – pop over now to see what Gavin McCrea has to say about Mrs Engels. He’ll even show you the whiteboard on which he mapped out the novel as he went along. Thanks to Scribe for my review copy – my first, but hopefully not last, from this publisher – and especially to Molly Slight for the logistics. (Note: if you’re reading this in the UK on publication day – 1 May – you can enter the Twitter competition at #wheresmrsengels for a chance to win a free copy.)

Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
9 Comments
Charli Mills
1/5/2015 07:39:05 pm

It excites me to find a historical novel using the gaze of women to portray an historic figure who is male. I'll definitely pay close attention when I read this one. Doesn't sound dry at all. :-)

Reply
Charli Mills
1/5/2015 07:44:52 pm

Your interview is fabulous, Anne! He's a writer who speaks to my heart! The white board looks like my timeline and his comment about filling it out as he goes is exactly what I do with my W on my whiteboard. You ask such good questions, things other writers want to know. Thank you!

Reply
Annecdotist
2/5/2015 07:03:28 am

Yes, portraying it through the female gaze is a great device and Lizzie Burns is so down to earth. I'm glad you liked the Q&A too – and now you mention it it does remind me of your W. Maybe I need to get a whiteboard.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
1/5/2015 10:58:54 pm

Anne, as much as I enjoyed your review, I even more enjoyed the interview. What great responses to your questions, and how comfortable, genuine and generous he was in answering them. I am amazed by the depth of research that is required to write a novel such as this. I must admit that is one thing I would feel rather daunting about tackling a novel. I enjoyed listening to him discuss his passion for Lizzie, and for not wanting to be away from her, and for ensuring that he kept the story true to her vision and position. It sounds like an excellent read. Thank you so much for sharing the work of another first time author. His next book also sounds fascinating.

Reply
Annecdotist
2/5/2015 07:06:08 am

Glad you liked it, Norah. I do find with all of these Q&A's the authors are extremely generous and thoughtful with their responses. Likewise, I couldn't put in that amount of research for a novel but, on the other hand, once you find your passion you've just got to follow it wherever it will go. I do like the sound of his series – seems like he's found a niche.

Reply
Geoff link
2/5/2015 02:01:50 am

It is an education, hearing him talking about his process and research. I think it is a real challenge this writing into real history and holding to the integrity of his research. It is also an area that fascinates: the building of ideas, of unpicking the daily reality to find an underlying template. Marx and his backer were extraordinary men, exceptional minds and while one might challenge some of the notions one cannot deny their impact or indeed seeming prescience. To look at those lives through another prism must be interesting.

Reply
Annecdotist
2/5/2015 07:08:13 am

Extraordinary men indeed, Geoff, and I'd probably feel too intimidated to try to fictionalise them. That's why it's so clever examining them from the point of view of a much more ordinary woman – so clever and so successful. Glad you enjoyed the Q&A.

Reply
Linda link
2/5/2015 01:21:40 pm

Enjoyed the interview - fascinating stuff. Have put the book on my 'must read' list!

Reply
Annecdotist
3/5/2015 01:50:19 am

Thanks, Linda, glad you liked it.

Reply

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