If you’re an avid fan of historical fiction, the odds are you’ve heard of Barbara Erskine.
Ever since her massively successful debut, Lady of Hay, hit shelves in 1986, Barbara has released a steady stream of spellbinding stories. Her novels have sold millions of copies worldwide, often mixing meticulously researched historical fact with supernatural, time-bending elements.
This August, she’s back with The Story Spinner, a tale of a Welsh Princess, the Roman General she’s promised to, and the modern-day poet who unearths her legend.
To mark the release of The Story Spinner, we sat down with Barbara to discuss the new novel and her journey so far. Plus, she gives us some nuggets of advice for aspiring writers.
“I discovered then that writing a novel takes a great deal more than just sitting down and looking rather graceful”
Ever since she was very young, Barbara wanted to be a storyteller. Aside from her father reading to her regularly, she traces her love of spinning yarns back to growing up as an only child, when she spent time dreaming up imaginary friends and siblings.
However, it wasn’t until school that she started putting pen to paper and writing stories for the school magazine – something which continued after she arrived at the University of Edinburgh to study her other great passion: history.
“My family were always very interested in history,” Barbara explains. “My great-aunt was a sort of family genealogist, so I grew up learning about both the glamorous sides of the family – the odd king cropped up now and then – and the more mundane ones. It just hooked me completely.”
It was at university that Barbara first attempted to write a novel, one that would incorporate her fascination with the past. However, she quickly realised what a huge undertaking writing a book is.
“I discovered then that writing a novel takes a great deal more than just sitting down and looking rather graceful with a quill pen and cup of coffee. It takes an awful lot of time, dedication, stamina, persistence, and thought – and I couldn’t do it and get a degree at the same time. So I had to abandon the story for the time being.”
“Once you’ve sold something, you can’t stop trying!”
After university, Barbara was offered a job as a trainee editor for a small publisher, which gave her a perfect education for her later career as a novelist.
She explains, “I was very lucky. They didn’t do any fiction, but they taught me the technical side of writing: how to check facts and do research – particularly picture research, which I loved.”
But when the publisher was taken over by a larger corporation, Barbara decided to go freelance, which gave her time to return to short story writing. She began sending pieces off to papers and magazines, eventually selling one to the London Evening News. “It was a murder thriller in a thousand words. And once you’ve sold something, you can’t stop trying!”
Over the coming years, Barbara continued to write and submit stories, as well as the occasional piece of journalism. However, while living in the mountains above Hay-on-Wye, she soon discovered an enchanting local legend that would become the basis for Lady of Hay.
Barbara tells us, “I came across the story of the woman who built Hay Castle, and she’d had a very interesting life that’s been moulded into legend. I wanted to combine my love of historical novels with the thrillers and romances I’d been writing for magazines. And the way I thought these genres could be combined was through a supernatural element.”
At first, Barbara considered writing a ghost story. However, she soon recalled the unique experiences of a friend, who took part in a strange experiment at university.
“She was hypnotised and taken back into the past,” Barbara says. “You know, you regress to your childhood, perhaps to traumatic events from when you were young. Then some people leap back into a previous life, which happened to my friend.
“Under hypnosis, she described this beautiful old house just outside of Edinburgh, having never been there before. They took her to see if it was still there, and it was!”
This idea stuck with and inspired Barbara, so when planning her novel, she decided to put her heroine through a similar experiment. Only the past life she relived was that of the Lady of Hay Castle. The result is a centuries-spanning story that’s sold millions of copies since its release, cementing Barbara as a best-selling novelist.
“It’s usually places linked to historical characters that inspire me”
Ever since Lady of Hay, Barbara has published 19 more books – including four collections of short stories. However, she’s known primarily for her novels which, like her debut, often slip between past and present.
“When you’re writing a historical novel,” she explains, “you need to be careful not to include all kinds of anachronism – for instance, having your historical characters say things that wouldn’t have been appropriate in those days.
“But if you have a modern take on it going on at the same time, your modern-day characters can say the things and ask the questions that your historical ones wouldn’t think of. It’s extremely interesting to see events from both points of view – past and present – particularly today when we’re all busy rewriting history.”
Barbara’s books also cover a broad range of history. In her upcoming novel, she takes us back to Roman-occupied Britain to tell the tale of Elen, a Welsh princess. Interwoven with this is the story of a contemporary poet who’s connected to Elen via an ancient meadow behind her house, which is being threatened by developers.
Speaking about how she comes up with story ideas, Barbara says, “It’s usually places linked to historical characters that inspire me.” As she explains, the idea for The Story Spinner arose after visiting Roman remains in South Wales with her son, as well as her own experiences with archaeology and development.
“About 20 years ago, we bought a house with a field attached to it, where I wanted to plant a wood. However, I didn’t realise that you had to apply for planning permission. [The council] said, wait a minute, you might have archaeology there. That was very exciting because we’d suspected that there were Roman remains where our house was.
“Sadly, it turned out that because the farmer who owned it previously had been ploughing it, anything that was left had been chopped up. But the experience gave me the idea of developers buying an old meadow with archaeology and intending to build on it.”
“There are so many people with years of experience behind them and lots of stories to tell”
Now in her 70s, Barbara shows no signs of slowing down her career and has already begun work on her next novel, which will take readers back to the 13th century. “It’s one of those jobs you don’t retire from,” she laughs. “Hopefully, I’ll go on writing until I drop.” And it’s clear that what draws her back to the pen time and again isn’t any desire for fame and fortune, but a genuine love of storytelling.
As she explains, “I talk to lots of people who want to be writers. Usually, they dream of having their books on shelves in bookshops but don’t necessarily think about what goes into it first.
“From my own point of view, I could never envisage being anything else. If I’d had to earn my living some other way, I would’ve done. And I was very lucky that, in the end, I managed to do it as a writer. But it was the writing that mattered. I just wrote and wrote.”
Going back to her very first novel-writing attempt at university, Barbara reflects that it wasn’t just the time constraints that held her back. She also believes her subsequent life experiences have proved invaluable in creating her much-loved fiction, which can be encouraging for anyone trying their hand at writing in later life.
She says, “I don’t think I’d lived sufficiently to deal with the great topics of life, death, massacre, and so forth that come with a historical novel. I remember thinking that I couldn’t write convincingly enough about these sorts of things. I think I was rather naive.”
Almost to prove the point, years later, Barbara turned her early, unfinished draft into her second novel, Kingdom of Shadows, once she had a bit more life experience under her belt.
“There are so many people with years of experience behind them and lots of stories to tell. You don’t have to dream of being published, you can just write for your own pleasure. That’s what I do. You’ve got to love every moment of it.”
“One piece of advice that I love is: ‘The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair’”
As for learning how to become a writer, Barbara acknowledges that there are plenty of educational opportunities out there – from short courses to degrees. However, like many authors, she believes one of the best ways to understand the craft is simply to read as much as you can.
“When I first started, I hadn’t a clue how to write a novel – I just learned by reading. And I still think that’s the best way, to be honest. Read, read, read. Try reading something twice: once for enjoyment, because you can’t stop turning the pages, but then go back and see what it is about it that works.”
But, ultimately, Barbara’s main piece of advice for aspiring writers is to just persevere.
“If you don’t succeed at getting published the first time, often, publishers will give you good advice. If they don’t say anything, ignore it and try again. But if they say, ‘I don’t think it works because of A, B, or C,’ then take note and have another go. These people know what they’re talking about.
“Remember, you don’t have to get it right the first time. Try not to be afraid of writing, writing, writing, and then going back and thinking, ‘Oh, that doesn’t work,’ or, ‘I could rearrange that.’ You can fiddle with it and tweak it. You know, just write and get to know your characters.
“One piece of advice that I love is: ‘The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.’ I think that’s brilliant. Just do it!”
The Story Spinner is out on Thursday 1st of August. And for more book content, why not head over to our literature section?
Have you read any of Barbara’s works? If so, what’s your favourite? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.