I don’t think I ever had an author tell me one of my interview questions made them emotional. But, Clare Whitfield is a debut author. Soon she’ll be experienced at interviews, and a hardened interviewee. (I’m happy to have caught her early on while questions are still different and unexpected.) Thank you, Clare, for taking time to answer questions.

Clare, would you introduce yourself to readers?

I’m 42 and live in Southampton in the UK but originally from the South London suburbs. I grew up the youngest of four children so my superpower is being annoying. I’m small and have been described as being like “one of those yappy dogs that thinks it’s bigger than it is.” I am married to a tattoo artist and have a sixteen-year-old daughter.

Without spoilers, tell us about People of Abandoned Character.

It’s set in 1888, in East London and Susannah Chapman is a nurse who rushes into marriage with a younger and wealthier Doctor in the hope it will give her security and an escape from a recent bereavement. But her husband soon changes and becomes aggressive and his housekeeper can barely contain her contempt. Then the infamous Ripper murders start and Susannah realizes her husband has been absent every time a murder has occurred. Who has she married?

Introduce us to Susannah Chapman, please.

Susannah is a conflicted woman; she’s critical, observant and very aware of how unfair and faintly ridiculous Victorian society is. She punishes herself for her unorthodox instincts and is plagued by self-doubt. She is witty and headstrong, with an innate craving for freedom. She’s a curious character; catty, complex and flawed.

I mentioned Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca when I reviewed People of Abandoned Character. It may have had nothing to do with this book. What books actually inspired you to write this one?

I appreciate the flattering words! I’ve never read Rebecca but it’s on my TBR list. I think the books that leap to mind are The Woman in Black by Susan Hill and Jack the Ripper: The Complete Casebook by Donald Rumbelow. If you are looking for a good book about the Ripper murders and the societal landscape behind it—this is the one.

Tell us about your research and sources, whether they were about nursing in Victorian England, women’s roles, or Jack the Ripper. Which rabbit holes trapped you the most?

I did a ton of research. Studies and papers and statistics. Poverty maps, underground maps, Victorian fashion, household items, nursing reforms, The London Hospital, medicine. I could go on for days. I’d say the rabbit hole was the newspapers. I was writing from the perspective of a woman taking her information from the news so I followed them for the narrative that was being pumped out at the time. It struck me that the news could have been written today. The language was different but the scapegoating, sensationalism, fearmongering, judgement—all there! Simplifying complex socio-economic issues into a binary choice between two polarized tribes? Also there!

Everyone takes a different route to publication. How did you become a published author?

After both my parents died, I went through a midlife crisis in my thirties. I was working crazy hours, earning good money, constantly sick, burned out and miserable. I decided to take a year out and take an MA in Creative & Critical Writing. People thought I’d lost my mind but I used the time to write People of Abandoned Character. I rewrote it seven times before submitting to agents. I ended up getting a couple of requests for full MSS and got called to a meeting with DHH Literary Agency and signed up! I was ecstatic! When Head of Zeus signed me up for a two-book deal I couldn’t think about anything else for days. In all it took four years from first draft to publication so it’s important to have patience!

In the last year, with COVID-19, what has been the most difficult part of being a debut author?

Not being able to do any launch events or celebrate with friends or do the crime festival I was booked for which might have helped me raise my profile as a debut author. Then the bookshops closed and it seemed like the world of celebrities all switched to publishing books. I have to remind myself that I’m one of the lucky ones. It still got released and had some great feedback and positive reactions.

Can you tell us anything about your next book?

I would love to! I’m not sure I’m allowed to share the title yet but it’s about a sixteen-year-old girl from South London who, in the aftermath of her mother’s suicide attempt, is sent to stay with her aunt and uncle on a remote island. When there she finds out her uncle was a suspect in the disappearance of a local girl, some twenty years earlier. There are a lot of secrets that need to come out—what happened to the missing girl is only one of them.

If you had to recommend 5 books to a person so they could get a feel for your reading taste, what 5 would you pick?

Only 5??? I’ll pick the first 5 that spring to mind. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Affinity by Sarah Waters, Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho, and In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

Clare, I’m a librarian, so I always end with this. Please tell us a story about you and a library or librarian.

This question was the most surprising as it made me unexpectedly emotional. Where I grew up was a big library. Home wasn’t always a pleasant place to be so I would spend hours wandering around this library—I mean HOURS. It gave me somewhere comfortable and pleasant to be and I would browse any section—science, geography, music, video tapes (showing my age). There was actually a boy I would bump into occasionally and we would hang out. I now wonder if he was avoiding the same thing at home. Libraries are amazing places—sanctuaries in many ways.

People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield. House of Zeus, 2020. ISBN 9781838932732 (hardcover), 432p.