Harriet Tyce is the author of the new novel Witch Trial. Her other novels include It Ends at Midnight. She is also a barrister, and she lives in London.
Q: How did Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible inspire you to write Witch Trial?
A: I had decided on the basic story already – it was going to be the story of a murder trial with teenage defendants told from the point of view of one of the jurors.
This was feeling a bit flat, though, as if something were missing, and it was after I went to see a production of The Crucible with my son that I realized what was needed. Witchcraft! I brought in a supernatural element and there it was – the story of a murder trial of two teenage girls who believe that they are witches.
Q: The novel is set in Edinburgh--how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: It’s fundamental. I tried to set the story in London and it just didn’t work. Edinburgh is perfect for this. It’s got a long, dark history of witch trials, it’s a beautiful city full of fascinating features and architecture. It’s Jekyll and Hyde, Burke and Hare, body snatchers and the macabre.
It’s also my hometown and I see this book as a love letter to my place of birth, however dark and twisted it may be.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I had no idea. It revealed itself to me as I wrote, and surprised me as much as I hope it surprises the reader.
Q: The writer Araminta Hall said of the book, “I was totally immersed in the story, but it also made me think about the power of fear, the protection of privilege and who we chose to trust.” What do you think of that description?
A: I was delighted that this was her takeaway from it as it’s exactly what I wanted to interrogate within the novel.
Matthew, the main protagonist, is a white, middle class, middle-aged professional man who has a certain view of the world and how it works for him, and each of the other jurors adjudicating on the murder trial has their own perspective and life experience too.
I wanted to look at the unconscious biases that people bring to the table in what they view to be the truth and who they believe.
The two girls in the dock look very different – one is blonde and beautiful (the pretty privilege, as it were), the other is more alternative in her appearance and generates a stronger reaction in people.
I think it’s important for us to look at our own prejudices and perhaps to stop to examine whether we are falling into the trap of making rapid assumptions about others based on their appearance, and this is essentially one of the core themes of the book.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m writing a sequel to Witch Trial, which starts 10 years after this book ends, because there are a number of characters whose story I want to continue.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: There’s a What If behind this novel which is this – What if the girls from The Craft were put on trial for murder?
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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