Elizabeth Macneal was born in Scotland and now lives in East London. She is a writer and potter and works from a small studio at the bottom of her garden. She read English Literature at Oxford University before working in the City for several years. In 2017, she completed the Creative Writing MA at UEA, where she was awarded the Malcolm Bradbury scholarship. She is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Doll Factory, which won the Caledonia Novel Award 2018. Circus of Wonders is her second book.
Today, Elizabeth Macneal is on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions. Read on …
Elizabeth Macneal
1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I was born in Edinburgh in Scotland. It’s such a historic city, full of tiny alleyways and grand squares, where you can almost taste the past – I was always fascinated by the more morbid side of Edinburgh’s history. Body-snatchers, hangings, witch duckings … All that child-friendly stuff!
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
I’m sure it makes me very boring, but I’ve always wanted to be an author. As a child, I liked nothing more than to shut myself away in my room and lose myself in stories I created – all these lives that I could conjure out of nothing, these experiences so wildly different from anything I knew. And I suppose I never really grew out of that.
3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don’t have now?
Oh, what a question! I think I had led quite a narrow life up until the age of eighteen. The school I attended used to be all boys, and there were damaging hangovers from that. I had a lot of internalised misogyny. So if it isn’t cheating, I think I didn’t have a strongly held position on many important issues, such as feminism, and I am quite embarrassed to remember that. At university (where, on the flip side, I went to a college that used to be female only), I needed both to educate myself and to unpick a lot of learning to understand my position, and that of others, in the world.
4. What are three works of art – this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc – that influenced your development as a writer?
The books I read as a child had a huge impact on me, and if I had to choose just one, I’d say Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin. It ignited my interest in history, and made me realise that fiction can make you feel and understand something in a way that my non-fiction couldn’t.
Perhaps I can’t escape my childhood (not that I’d want to, I had a great time!) but my second choice would be ‘Peter and the Wolf’ composed by Prokofiev. I listened to it on cassette constantly. I think it gave me a rudimentary understanding of how voices can be so different and work so beautifully together – from the flute of the bird to grandfather’s wonderfully grave bassoon. I can’t imagine ever writing in a single voice – I find a real richness in weaving together different perspectives.
In terms of my current novel, Circus of Wonders, my lightbulb moment was a photograph entitled ‘bearded woman aged 23’. It was this fragment that interested me – and a desire to understand how it would have felt to live the life she did.
5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a novel?
It helps that I have absolutely no musical or dramatic talent, so those were never options! I am, however, a potter, which I enjoy for its differences from writing (I can make a mug quickly and relatively easily, and it’s physically rather than mentally draining). But writing is my passion and always has been – I find it miraculous that entire worlds can be conjured from words on a page, that you can make a reader believe in a character you have created in your head. There’s also a real power in fiction – I think it can persuade and convince in a way that few art forms can.
‘I also like writing about the past because it’s a way of exploring the present at a slant, whether that’s the generation of fake news (the Crimean War and the circus were fascinating for this), the position of women, or how our society treats those who are more vulnerable or marginalised.’
6. Please tell us about your latest novel!
Of course! It’s called Circus of Wonders. It’s set in 1866 England and is about a girl called Nell, who picks miniature violets on a small flower farm. She is set apart from her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin. But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in her village, Nell is kidnapped. Her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers and Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her.
In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. Figurines are cast in her image, and crowds rush to watch her soar through the air. But who gets to tell Nell’s story? What happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Toby, can he detach himself from his past and the terrible secret that binds him to his brother?
It’s about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility, and I really hope you enjoy it!
7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?
Mainly, I hope that the reader would relish the six hours or so that they spent reading my book – that they would feel moved and entertained and absorbed by it. But of course, I also like writing about the past because it’s a way of exploring the present at a slant, whether that’s the generation of fake news (the Crimean War and the circus were fascinating for this), the position of women, or how our society treats those who are more vulnerable or marginalised. So I’d hope that readers might take away some reflection on that.
8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?
There are so many authors I admire – this is a tough question! I think I’ll have to go with Margaret Atwood. Not just her ability, but her absolute dedication to the craft. She is prolific! The range of her imagination, how she pushes herself – she has tried her hand at so many different genres and forms, and pulled off such ambitious structures and narratives. She’s also very supportive to other authors, particularly upcoming writers, something that I feel strongly about too.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
I would love to be writing novels in forty years’ time, each one better than the last. I found it so exciting when I opened the finished copy of Circus of Wonders for the first time, and there was a page that read ‘Also by Elizabeth Macneal: The Doll Factory.’ One day I’d love that page to be a long list of books. And of course, to have one of my books turned into a film or TV series! That would be great. To have a world I made up reimagined in a different format.
10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
My main advice would be to read. When I’m stuck for inspiration, I read anything I can get my hands on. I see other novels not only as sources of enjoyment (which of course they are), but as textbooks. I try to unpick how the author does it. How that twist works, how the characters chime against each other, how the plot unspools.
Thank you for playing!
—Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal (Pan Macmillan Australia) is out now.
Elizabeth Macneal
Circus of Wonders
It is 1865 and in a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living. Set apart from her community because of the birthmarks that pepper her skin, Nell keeps her head down and her sights small: her world is her beloved brother and devotion to the sea.
Then, Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives on the outskirts of the village. Nell keeps her distance, but the night after the circus has apparently left, she is kidnapped. Her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life...
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