Q&A with Linda Stewart Henley

 

Photo by Mark Gardner

 

 

Linda Stewart Henley is the author of the new novel Kate's War. Her other novels include Waterbury Winter. She grew up in England, and she lives in Anacortes, Washington.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Kate’s War, and how did you create your character Kate Murphy?

 

A: I read my father’s unpublished memoir, where he described an experience in World War II (I won’t give details here because those are spoilers). This little-known event called out to be captured in a novel.

 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t discuss it with my father because I learned about it after he died, and he never talked to me about it earlier. His generation often didn’t speak about the war, partly because that was the norm, and partly because of the Official Secrets Act by which people divulging sensitive information could be prosecuted.

 

I decided to place the dramatic event at the end of the book. That meant I had to build a story to explain how my character Kate came to take part in it. I’ve always been interested in coming-of-age challenges, and at 20, Kate’s were magnified by the onset of World War II.

 

Q: How did you research the novel, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

A: I read several historical novels set in the war, such as Atonement by Ian McEwan, Transcription by Kate Atkinson and The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. I read some of Winston Churchill’s speeches and Erik Larsen’s fine nonfiction book The Splendid and the Vile.

 

I was surprised to find that during the war many people contributed to the Mass Observation Project. This was a social service experiment in which citizens were asked to keep a record of their doings and thoughts.

 

Some of these were published. Reading the entries gave me a very good sense of life during the time period of my novel, which is the first year of the war and before the Blitz.

 

Q: The writer Ashley E. Sweeney called the novel a “mesmerizing and heartfelt narrative of a young woman’s inner and outer battles at the cusp of WW II . . .” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Well, I’m flattered, of course. Only a reader could describe the book as mesmerizing. I certainly didn’t think of it that way when I was writing it. But her blurb (on the book’s cover) is helpful as a short summary of what the story is about. It’s more about Kate’s war within herself than about the war itself.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: That escape is a normal reaction to horrible events but isn’t easy to achieve. People are often called upon to make the best of a bad situation and can do so with amazing fortitude and optimism. People are resilient and have the ability to love and protect one another even during tumultuous times.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: At this time of year, during the winter months, I take my husband’s fiction writing seminar. It’s an 18-week course and I’ve taken it 10 times. It’s where I learned to write fiction.

 

So now I’m writing a new novel (about a survivor of the Paradise fire) just to keep up with the class. I started all three of my published novels there. I try to contribute to the class to help new writers; at this point that’s the main reason I take it (besides showing support for my husband, who insists that I enroll).

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Kate’s War is set in the area south of London where I grew up. I enjoyed revisiting everyday English customs during the war, such as tea drinking—ones that persist to this day.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Linda Stewart Henley.