SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: The Blackthorn Branch
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.elencaldecott.com/
CITY: Bristol, England
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: English
LAST VOLUME: SATA 300
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in England; married; husband’s name Simon.
EDUCATION:Birmingham University, degree; Bath Spa University, M.A. (writing for young people); working toward Ph.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. Lancaster University, England, lecturer. Formerly worked as an archaeologist, nurse, and security guard.
AWARDS:Tir Na n’Og Award.
WRITINGS
Short fiction represented in anthologies, including Mystery and Mayhem, 2016. Author of plays, including Corina Pavlova and the Lion’s Roar, produced in Cardiff, Wales, 2015.
SIDELIGHTS
Elen Caldecott is a British writer and educator. She holds degrees from Birmingham University and Bath Spa University and has served as a lecturer at Lancaster University. Previously, she worked as an archaeologist, a nurse, and a museum security guard. She is the author of the “Project X” series, the “Marsh Road Mysteries” series, and the “Evie’s Magic Bracelet” series, the last of which she co-wrote with Jessica Ennis-Hill. In an interview with Caitlin Marion Dermidy, contributor to the Read and Drink Tea website, Caldecott discussed her development as a writer, stating: “I’ve written since school. It was always a hobby and a passion. I had a fantastic teacher who encouraged me early on. Books for young people are pacy, challenging and fun. When I started writing them, it felt like home.”
Among Caldecott’s standalone novels is How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini, which finds three friends and a dog work together to solve mysteries involving the animals near their apartment building and one of their neighbors. Kathryn Tyson, reviewer in School Librarian, described the book as “a story whose easy style makes for an enjoyable and page-turning read.”
Caldecott is the author of the 2012 volume, The Mystery of Wickworth Manor, which was inspired by a real painting. In an interview with a contributor to the Books for Keeps website, Caldecott explained: “It hangs in Erddig Hall in North Wales. It dates to the first half of the 18th century and depicts a young, black boy in red livery. A poem was added some 50 years later. We don’t even know if the boy was a real person, or painted from the artist’s imagination.” In the book, two very different kids learn to appreciate one another as they spend time together on a school trip to Wickworth Manor. Paige and Curtis discover a painting similar to the one that inspired Caldecott and attempt to reveal more information about it. In a favorable review of the volume in School Librarian, Marzena Currie asserted: “Written with a great dose of humour, so typical for this author, The Mystery of Wickworth Manor is a lovely adventure story.”
In The Short Knife, Caldecott tells the story of sisters Mai and Haf, who live in the Middle Ages in what is now the United Kingdom. After soldiers attack their home, they are forced to make a new place for themselves, in a location where the language is not their native tongue. In an interview with a contributor to the Family Bookworms website, Caldecott discussed the connections between elements of the story and her own upbringing in Wales. She stated: “The language Mai speaks, and thinks in, is inspired by Welsh. I tried to give her a Welsh mindset (as much as one can, given that the book is set in an ancient past). So, the language is important, but there are other ideas about being bilingual, fitting in or standing out, being part of a community that can feel on the edge of things, on the edge of attention.” Caldecott added: “There are also themes of betrayal in the book—about whether or not one should stick with a community one is born into, or whether there are things to be gained by leaving, which are also inspired by my own connection with Wales.”
The first entry in the “March Road Mysteries” series is Diamonds and Daggers. In this volume, Caldecott introduces close friends Minnie, Piotr, and Andrew. When Piotr’s security guard father is accused of stealing a famous actress’s jewels, the three friends determine to find the real culprit. “The writing is cleverly persuasive, and there is much to discuss long after the mystery has been solved. This is story telling at its finest,” asserted Helen Thompson in School Librarian. The kids help twins Flora and Sylvie find the thief who robbed their father’s business in Spooks and Scooters, another installment in the series. Thompson, writing again in School Librarian, described the novel as “a thoroughly enjoyable mystery.”
In an interview with a contributor to the English Association website, Caldecott offered this advice to aspiring authors: “Read like a writer. By which, I mean work out what technical aspects you like about the books you admire. Use what you learn in your own writing.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
School Librarian, summer, 2009, Marie Imeson, review of How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant, p. 97; winter, 2010, Kathryn Tyson, review of How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini, p. 226; autumn, 2012, Marzena Currie, review of The Mystery of Wickworth Manor, p. 162; summer, 2015, Helen Thompson, review of Diamonds and Daggers, p. 101; summer, 2016, Helen Thompson, review of Spooks and Scooters, p. 100.
ONLINE
Books for Keeps, https://booksforkeeps.co.uk/ (May, 2012), author interview.
Buzz, https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/ (March 18, 2015), author interview.
Elen Caldecott website, https://elencaldecott.com (March 26, 2024).
English Association, https://englishassociation.ac.uk/ (March 26, 2024), author interview.
Family Bookworms, http://familybookworms.wales/ (April 13, 2021), author interview.
Lancaster University, Department of English and Creative Writing website, https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ (March 26, 2024), author faculty profile.
London Guardian Online, https://www.theguardian.com/ (March 24, 2015), article by author.
Read and Drink Tea, https://readanddrinktea.com/ (July 31, 2020), Caitlin Marion Dermidy, author interview.
I started writing for children and young people as a treat. I thought I wanted to write serious books for adults, but I had to force myself to sit still, I had to bribe myself to write. If I managed to write a whole page, I would reward myself by letting myself work on a story for children. It was much more fun!
Eventually, I realised that I could just stop trying to write stories that I wasn’t enjoying and I could follow my heart instead. My heart led me to writing for children.
My first book
My first book was How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones’ Children’s Book Prize. It was a story about a young girl who has to save her grandad’s allotment and there are ideas in it which have come to be very important in all of my work.
Its ingenious ideas, humour and clear, unfussy style keep the pages turning speedily to the feel-good conclusion, which is moving without being mawkish
THE SUNDAY TIMES – HOW KIRSTY JENKINS STOLE THE ELEPHANT
I love being a writer who writes about ordinary children having brilliant adventures. Kirsty comes from a blended family – she has the same Dad as her brother and sister, but a different Mum. But they’re all on the same team when it matters.
These themes have continued through books like Operation Eiffel Tower and the Marsh Road Mysteries series.
I grew up in North Wales, in an ex-mining community, so it’s always been important to me that books reflect real life in a hopeful and positive way. In my writing for children I want to acknowledge the struggles and difficulties we all face, while at the same time, demonstrate that the world can also be beautiful, exciting and full of wonder.
Before being a writer, I trained as a nurse; I worked as an archaeologist; I was a theatre usher and a museum security guard. I live in Bristol with my partner and my dog, and too many books by half.
FAQs
& my answers
u
Where do you get your ideas?
I get inspired mostly by seeing or reading art that other people have made. I read a lot, I go to galleries, I watch films. I actually think it’s really important for writers to just experience the world and see what other artists have to say about things. I try to remember to carry a notebook, but my phone works just as well if I want to write down anything I’ve noticed as I’m out-and-about.
u
Which is your favourite book?
My favourite of mine or of someone else’s? I’ll answer for both!
I have a few favourites of my own, and they are favourites for different reasons. I like How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant because it was my first book ever. I have a soft spot for Operation Eiffel Tower, because I had the story in my head for so long. And I like The Short Knife because I worked the hardest on that of anything I’ve ever done.
I have a few favourite books by other writers. I love Holes by Louis Sachar because the plot is just so perfect. Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle has a brilliant voice. And I love Lockwood & Co by Jonathan Stroud because it’s scary without being too scary.
u
How long does it take to write a book?
It really varies! The quickest I’ve ever written a book was a week. That was a short comic! The longest was about 20 years – I wrote Operation Eiffel Tower based on a short story I’d written when I was 11.
But usually, it takes about a year. Four months to write a first draft, six months to edit and two months for final tweaks.
Dr Elen Caldecott
Lecturer in Creative Writing
Research Overview
I am a creative writing practitioner with a successful ten year career in the publishing industry. My creative career has dovetailed with practice-led research in academia.
I specialise in writing, researching and teaching literature for young people. Much of my work is concerned with positive representations of working class childhoods and of non-traditional families. I also have an interest in transnational literature, especially the creative potential of artists working between languages.
I am interested in supervising projects in the field of writing for young people.
Web Links
www.elencaldecott.com
Additional Information
Further information for prospective PhD Students.
If you will be seeking funding for your programme from the DTP or Faculty, my personal timeline for helping you with that is:
Jan-Aug, I am open to exploratory discussions.
Sept-Dec, I am open to formal applications from students who will be seeking funding.
Jan-Feb, I will support accepted students with DTP funding applications.
Easter, typically funding decisions are made.
Oct, student starts their PhD programme.
For students who are self-funding, I welcome discussions on your proposed project between Sept-July to start the following October.
Series
Marsh Road Mysteries
1. Diamonds and Daggers (2015)
2. Crowns and Codebreakers (2015)
3. Spooks and Scooters (2016)
4. Cats and Curses (2016)
5. Dogs and Doctors (2017)
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Novels
How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant (2009)
How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini (2010)
Operation Eiffel Tower (2011)
The Mystery of Wickworth Manor (2012)
The Great Ice-Cream Heist (2013)
The Short Knife (2020)
The Blackthorn Branch (2022)
Elen Caldecott
www.elencaldecott.com
Facebook: search 'Elen Caldecott Children's Author'
My name is Elen Caldecott, I am a writer for children and young people. I live in Bristol with my husband and my dog. Before my real dog arrived, I had an imaginary dog called Augustus Snags.
I have always liked to read books. When I was a child I would write sequels to some of my favourite books because I couldn’t bear to say goodbye to the characters. Eventually, I started inventing characters of my own.
Before becoming a writer, I was an archaeologist, a nurse, a theatre usher and a museum security guard. It was while working at the museum that I realised there a way to steal anything if you think about it hard enough. I either had to become a master thief, or create some characters to do it for me so I began my debut novel, How Kirsty Jenkins Stole The Elephant.
My work has been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award and the UKLA award, longlisted for the Carnegie and has won the Tir Na n'Og award.
QUOTED: "It hangs in Erddig Hall in North Wales. It dates to the first half of the 18th century and depicts a young, black boy in red livery. A poem was added some 50 years later. We don’t even know if the boy was a real person, or painted from the artist’s imagination."
This article is featured in BfK 194 May 2012
This article is in the Category
A Q&A Interview with Elen Caldecott on The Mystery of Wickworth Manor
Authors: Elen Caldecott, Andrea Reece
The Mystery of Wickworth Manor is your fourth book for children. Have you always wanted to write for children in particular?
No, not always. I used to write angsty poetry as a teenager. I dabbled with an adult novel for a while (it was rubbish). But the stories that I gravitated towards seemed to be for children. The more I wrote, the clearer that relationship became.
The Mystery of Wickworth Manor sounds like it could be an Enid Blyton adventure! Was that deliberate?
Actually that wasn’t its title for most of its development. It had a number of working titles over the months I spent writing it. One of them got as far as having a cover design done. It was that design that made us realise that we hadn’t found the right title – it was too dark and gloomy. So, we chose something that had those adventure connotations. I do owe a debt to Enid Blyton!
What do you hope children will enjoy most in the book?
I hope they enjoy it all! But, having said that, my favourite element is Paige and Curtis’ relationship. They are the main characters and, when the story begins, they think they will hate each other. As the story goes on, they are forced to see things from the other’s perspective. I think you can be friends with pretty much anyone, if you try to understand them.
Tell us about the painting that inspired the book.
Actually, not much is known about the real painting that inspired the book. It hangs in Erddig Hall in North Wales. It dates to the first half of the 18th century and depicts a young, black boy in red livery. A poem was added some 50 years later. We don’t even know if the boy was a real person, or painted from the artist’s imagination. So, my research had to focus on the accounts of and by black people in 18th century Britain. I used those to invent a story.
Is it important to you that your books have quite complex themes as well as being fast-moving adventures?
I just write what I like to read. I enjoy the mixture of humour and reflection that comes about when you have lots of ingredients in the same book. I hope that for a lot of readers, they’ll just have fun, but others will notice the ideas and think about them.
You are a graduate of the MA course in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. What do you think was the most useful thing the course taught you?
There are two strands to the course that were both really helpful. Workshops helped me to critique my work so that my writing improved. Visiting speakers from the world of children’s publishing come to teach students about the industry. That meant that a student leaves the course armed with the knowledge they need to build a career. For me, it was a fast-track to becoming an author.
ELEN CALDECOTT | INTERVIEW
March 18, 2015
category: uncategorized
As part of Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival, Bristol-based author Elen Caldecott, from Wrexham, will be talking books, writing and whipping up a storm of ideas at her Interactive Creative Writing workshop.
Your characters are mostly adventurers and do-ers – is this how you are?
I do like to try new things. I am given to wild enthusiasms, where I take up a new hobby, buy all the kit, do it for a year…and then move on to the next thing. So, I am a very bad horserider, climber, violin-player, roller-blader…I don’t know if you do need a gun-ho adventurer type to make an interesting story. Sometimes, a quieter sort of person, being forced into the limelight can have a lot of drama too.
What books did you enjoy most as a child?
I loved Enid Blyton – the school stories, the adventure stories, but above all her mystery stories. I loved trying to spot the clues and work it out! It’s been a while since I read Enid, I think her work doesn’t speak to adults in the way it does to children. There are plenty of writers for children whose work does, of course, and I read a lot of those. Favourites include Louis Sachar and Hilary McKay.
Nowadays I tend to only read books for adults when I’m on holiday. I will fill my Kindle with a crime series, or the ‘big books’ of the year and gorge on them in a sunny spot. I mostly love really beautifully written contemporary books and recently read Tornado Chasers by Ross Montgomery and Counting By 7s by Holly Sloane – both of which blew me away.
Were you always a bit of a writer?
Since primary school, yes. Though during my teenage years, it was all bad, angsty poetry that I shared with no one. I originally studied archaeology, before doing a post-grad course in writing for young people. It was that course which put me on the road to publication. Much of my youthful writing was what we would now call fanfiction (but used to be called copying.) So, I wrote a lot of ‘further adventures’: the further adventures at Malory Towers, or Sweet Valley High. I think its good training, actually, and is one of the suggestions I make to young writers.
How did you make the switch to author?
I have travelled a lot and nearly ten years ago, I used some redundancy money to travel to Australia. It was while I was there that I began writing in earnest for children. I say in earnest’, in fact it felt very light and natural. I haven’t stopped since.
What inspires you when creating characters?
I use a lot of images when creating characters – pictures from magazines, portraits, photos. I collect interesting faces. So, a lot of my characters have been based on real people, just not real people I’ve ever met!
What was it like seeing Corina Pavlova brought to life in Corain Pavlova and the Lion’s Roar at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre two years ago?
I came to talk to a group of children at the first Cardiff Childrne’s Literature Festival two years ago. In the audience was a theatre director from the Sherman. She talked to me afterwards and it was from that meeting that the decision to write a play for children came – so it was a very enjoyable festival indeed! It was a fantastic experience working on the stage production. The Sherman Theatre were so warm and supportive. It was brilliant to work with a group of people whose expertise was so different to mine, costume design, music, stage direction and so on – all things I know nothing about. I loved it. I would happily do it again!
What can we expect from your session?
Lots of jumping around and being noisy (so not quite what you’d expect from a book-ish event). I show children how to go about constructing a story and I do that by inventing a story based on audience suggestions. There’s usually a pirate called Bob. The festival is great for meeting authors, and being entertained by them is a great way to engage readers, and create new readers. To be honest, it’s just fun!
QUOTED: "I’ve written since school. It was always a hobby and a passion. I had a fantastic teacher who encouraged me early on. Books for young people are pacy, challenging and fun. When I started writing them, it felt like home."
Author Q&A: Elen Caldecott
JULY 31, 2020 ~ CAITLIN MARION DERMIDY
Elen Caldecott is a childrens and YA author who wrote The Short Knife, a book I previously wrote a review on.
I got in contact with Elen and asked if I could possibly ask some questions on her career as a writer and on her book ‘The Short Knife’. Not only did she respond quickly, she also said yes! I appreciate when anyone takes the time to answer some of my questions and I can’t thank Elen enough!.
1. What made you become a writer and primarily with children’s books?
I’ve written since school. It was always a hobby and a passion. I had a fantastic teacher who encouraged me early on. Books for young people are pacy, challenging and fun. When I started writing them, it felt like home.
2. What gave you the inspiration to move on from children’s books to writing a YA novel? 3. Was there a reason you decided to set the ‘The Short Knife’ in the past and would you write more historical fiction?
I started writing it with language as the main inspiration. I wanted to write a book that was in English, but inspired by Welsh. I didn’t have a plot in mind, I had a voice in mind. I decided the most interesting time to write about, given that I wanted to write about Welsh meeting English, was when English first arrived in the British Isles. That meant it had to be a historical novel, and, given the complex nature of that meeting, it had to be a book for slightly older readers.
4. Were you particularly influence by any other authors or novels to begin your career or specifically to write ‘The Short Knife’?
I love to read – I always have. So, I rely on other writers to fuel my reading. I learn so much from other writers. In the case of TSK, Catherine Johnson’s ‘The Curious Tale of the Lady Caribou’ was influential, in the way that she gave herself permission to imagine the lives of people who are quite shadowy in the historical record.
5. What process and research did you have to follow and conduct in order to write ‘The Short Knife’?
I did a lot of research on the language. I retranslated a dictionary of Welsh idioms and played with Welsh grammar. I also researched the time period, with visits to experiemental archaeology sites like West Stow Anglo-Saxon village.
6. Regarding your book, ‘The Short Knife’, was it a conscious decision to make the main protagonist a female with a strong, resilient personality?
I always wanted to tell women’s stories, yes. Not just Mai’s, but the female community she is surrounded by.
7. We see the story flip between two different times in Mai’s life before they catch up to each other, what made you write it with the two timelines rather than just one?
The plot of the book is based on an old legend of Hengist and Vortigern. That legend ends with a massacre. So, I knew that the finale of the book would have to happen with that dramatic event. However, I didn’t want Mai’s story to finish in that spot. So, by mixing up the timelines, I was able to give her a much longer epilogue than is usual.
8. To me, this book spoke about identity and language and this was one way I felt many people could relate to, was it originally going to feature those themes or did they happen naturally during the writing process?
It always was about language. I wanted to experiment with languages, more than anything. But identity is so often tied up with language so that ended up become an important theme organically.
9. Do you plan to write any more YA novels?
I might. I don’t know. That’s not what I’m working on right now, but who knows after that.
10. Do you have any advice for an aspiring author or writer?
Be curious. Experiment. Play. Words are a tool, in just the way that clay, or paint, or musical notes are the tools of other artists. Don’t be afraid to mess about with words – sometimes what you do will be awful, but sometimes you’ll make magic.
I loved all of these answers and I felt it gave me further insight into being a writer, the process of writing and of the novel itself. The link to Elen’s website is: http://www.elencaldecott.com/
if you havent read this book yet I recommend you do! Not only is it a great book, it was written by a gret author!
Many thanks, Caitlin x
(PS please feel free to like comment or share)
QUOTED: "Read like a writer. By which, I mean work out what technical aspects you like about the books you admire. Use what you learn in your own writing."
Elen Caldecott’s debut novel, How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant, was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Prize and longlisted for the 2010 Carnegie Award.
When you start to write a book, do you know how it will end?
Yes, to a certain extent. I like to have an idea for a finale, and to know whether it will be a happy/sad/somewhere in between ending.
Do you base your characters on real people?
No, too dangerous.
Do you ever get writer’s block? What do you do about it?
I do reach a point of fatigue with books, typically around the 20k mark. When that happens, I like to walk the dog, with no headphones, or other distractions. I will often find that an idea for the next scene will occur to me.
What is the hardest thing about being a writer?
Having to self-motivate myself. And bearing the many rejections both pre- and post- publication.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
I love to hear readers’ responses to my work, especially if a situation or character has really resonated with them.
What inspired you to write?
I had a great primary school teacher who put up with very silly stories from me. She gave me lots of encouragement.
Do you follow the same process each time you write?
Yes. I plan a rough outline, then write a first draft as quickly as possible. From there, I’ll take a few months to edit. Ideally, a novel takes me about ten months to write.
At what stage in your writing process do you use a computer?
From day one. I never handwrite, other than to mind map possible plots.
How much does your editor change what you write?
She often has me describe more, especially my character’s appearances. It turns out I don’t like saying what people look like.
What do you think you would be if you weren’t an author?
Perhaps a teacher, or something in film! Maybe an editor. I like films almost as much as books.
What is your attitude to kindles and ebooks?
I have the Kindle app on my phone and I read ebooks with it. I like having ‘emergency’ access to books.
What was your favourite book(s) when you were a child?
I loved Enid Blyton, especially Malory Towers. I also loved Roald Dahl, Matilda was my favourite.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Read like a writer. By which, I mean work out what technical aspects you like about the books you admire. Use what you learn in your own writing.
My inspiration: Elen Caldecott on Gillian Cross
This article is more than 8 years old
Elen Caldecot was raised on a diet of books of about posh children – until she read about children like her and her friends, in Gillian Cross’s Strike at Ratcliffe’s Rags and realised she had as much right to be there as any Julian, Dick or George
Elen Caldecott
Tue 24 Mar 2015 04.00 EDT
I grew up with a cracked-spine, sticky collection of read, and re-read books: Enid Blyton, Edith Nesbit, Frances Hodgson Burnett. I loved them all passionately, and wanted to be Mary Lennox, or Darrell Rivers - in fact, I seem to remember borrowing Dad’s old tennis racket to play an inept, and highly destructive, version of lacrosse.
At the time, I didn’t notice that the only working class children in these books were either wise-saints (Dickon) or timid servants (all of the rest of them). It seemed entirely right and natural that stories would be about the middle and upper-classes.
And then, when I was about 10 years old, I was given a different sort of book. And it stunned me. It was called Strike at Ratcliffe’s Rags (also published as Revolt at Ratcliffe’s Rags) written by Gillian Cross. In it a (middle-class) girl befriends a boy when they are forced to work together on a school project. I can’t quite remember how, but Abie and Chris’ school project turns into a battle to stop the dangerous and unjust working conditions in the sweatshop where Chris’ mum works. For Abie, the strike is obviously a good thing. For Chris, who understands poverty, and fears his mum being fired, the politics are much more complicated.
Strike.jpg
For me, this was a road to Damascus novel. My mum didn’t work in a sweatshop (though, as an English teacher in an under-funded comprehensive, she might have argued the point), but the village I lived in had once been a thriving mining community. With the mine closed, the village was (and still is, incidentally) dying on its feet. My junior school was in the middle of a council estate and the girl who brought her own lunch was the odd-one-out among all the free school dinnerers. With this book, suddenly, children like my school-friends, like me, had found a place on my bookshelf.
Elen
View image in fullscreen
Elen Caldecott: until I read Gillian Cross’s Strike at Ratcliffe’s Rags I didn’t even notice working class characters were absent from the books I’d been reading. Photograph: PR
And until I read that book, I hadn’t even noticed that we were absent.
Now, of course, groups like We Need Diverse Books are challenging our preconceptions of who should be represented in children’s books (short answer: everyone). The world has and is changing. But I’ve never lost the sense of wonder that I felt on reading Strike at Ratcliffe’s Rags. It was a gift to me and children like me. I try to keep this feeling in mind when I create a cast of characters for my own stories. Whose stories haven’t we told? Who has something novel and interesting to share?
Diamonds and Daggers
I visit a lot of schools, as part of my job, and I meet lots of children. Over the past few years, I’ve met children who’ve moved from Poland, or who were born in the UK to Polish parents. When I was creating the cast for Diamonds and Daggers, I realised that their story is still to be told, so, while we wait for them to be old enough to tell it themselves, I hope that finding themselves in the pages of a book will give them assurance that the world of children’s books is for everyone. We all have as much right to be there as any Julian, Dick or George.
Elen Caldecott’s Diamonds and Daggers in available at the Guardian’s bookshop.
QUOTED: "The language Mai speaks, and thinks in, is inspired by Welsh. I tried to give her a Welsh mindset (as much as one can, given that the book is set in an ancient past). So, the language is important, but there are other ideas about being bilingual, fitting in or standing out, being part of a community that can feel on the edge of things, on the edge of attention."
"There are also themes of betrayal in the book—about whether or not one should stick with a community one is born into, or whether there are things to be gained by leaving, which are also inspired by my own connection with Wales."
TNN2021: Elen Caldecott Interview
April 13, 2021DaddyWorm
The Tir na n-Og Award is an annual award for children’s books with an authentic Welsh context. The shortlist, announced in March, features three brilliant books:
The winner of the award will be announced at the end of May. In the meantime, we are all encouraged to shadow the awards and get to know these books in more detail. We are delighted to be bringing you interviews with the shortlisted authors, and our first is with Dr. Elen Caldecott, author of The Short Knife.
Elen was born and raised near Llangollen, where her family still lives. She has published many books for children; her debut novel, How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant, was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Prize and longlisted for the 2010 Carnegie Award. The Short Knife was written as part of her PhD in Creative Writing and was longlisted for the Carnegie. It is a story set in the early middle ages, 454, at a time when Welsh identity was just starting to emerge, when the Romans had left and the Britons and Saxons were battling to take hold of different territories. Young Mai and her sister, Haf, are suspicious of the Saxon soldiers arriving in their village. Proved rightly so by a brutal attack on their family home, the sisters must seek a new place to belong, encountering betrayal, love, and everything in between. This is a celebration of difference and finding your own way, when even speaking your mother tongue can be dangerous.
What was the seed that began The Short Knife?
I was curious about language, primarily. In an earlier book (Diamonds and Daggers), I had written a Polish character and the copyeditor had asked ‘Isn’t their English really good?’ and the answer was, ‘No, they’re speaking Polish to the other Polish characters.’ But, of course, the words on the page were English. So, I had a creative problem: How can you give the impression of one language when writing in another? It felt like a puzzle. I wanted to try to solve it. As I speak only two languages well enough to be able to write in them – Welsh and English – it was a puzzle I could only try to solve using those languages. Therefore, the voice and style of The Short Knife came first and the plot afterwards. It was great to turn that puzzle into a research question for my PhD as it gave me the time and space I needed to play.
You were an archaeologist – does this have any bearing on the way you approached the story?
Definitely. I studied Roman Britain as an undergraduate, and I’ve always been fascinated by the end of the empire. It would have been a very different experience, depending on where you lived (If you were in modern Turkey, for example, you might not even have noticed). Britain was probably the worst affected province. So, I knew it was a time of tumult, which is always good for a story. In a more practical sense, I was able to read site reports for excavations which had happened in the locations I was using, so I can justify some of the decisions I made – for example, having Gwrtheyrn resettle an Iron Age fort.
Were there any specific sites that provided inspiration or breakthrough moments?
Yes, absolutely. Even though it’s historical fiction, and there’s no 100% accurate way to know what life was like then, I found some approximations which were really inspirational. Leigh Woods in Bristol is woodland with a hill fort within it. I took my laptop and my dog up there a lot. We’d walk for an hour and I’d do my best to notice details of the landscape, then I’d write.
Images by Elen Caldecott
I also visited ‘reconstruction’ sites – St Fagans in Cardiff has a small village of roundhouses, and West Stow, near Peterborough has some Anglo-Saxon halls. It was genuinely amazing to visit these sites and talk to the people who worked there. My pen rushed over my notebook. I felt as though the sounds, smells and sensations were a way to get closer to my characters. I also visited Newport Wetlands and Cadbury Congresbury hill fort for more details about the landscape.
Where is the farm of Mai, Haf and Tad located and would they have considered themselves Welsh, British or something else?
Most readers have assumed that their farm is in modern Wales, but it isn’t. It’s actually nearer to modern Bristol, (though that city hasn’t been established at this time period). There are clues to the location – for example they talk about walking to the Severn and the crossing being dangerous. But I call the river by its Welsh name, the Hafren, and I don’t think most people are familiar with that name. Its funny, really, you’d think that two neighbouring countries would know what the other called the boundary between them, but we don’t. It reflects the enormous power imbalance between the languages, I suspect.
In terms of what Mai and her family would consider themselves, they are British. However, there’s a generational divide between what they mean by that. Tad, who was a boy at the end of empire, might think of himself as a citizen of the Roman Province of Britannia, at least nostalgically. Mai and Haf, on the other hand, have no such nostalgia. They speak Brittonic, a language family that spread from Edinburgh to Exeter at the time. Having said that, daily life was likely so disrupted, I doubt there was any sense of a ‘national people’, the societies were likely much more regional.
Do you see yourself as Welsh, British or something else?
Yes, I absolutely do think of myself as Welsh – that’s what I’d reply if someone asked me where I’m from. I haven’t lived there since I left to go to university, but my family is still there. I visit regularly (or did, you know, before). My PhD was part supervised at Aberystwyth University and I ended up working at Cardiff Uni for nearly two years afterwards. I rarely think of ‘British’ other than as a legal term – like on your passport or when applying for a job. It’s something I am, but it doesn’t hold quite the same resonance, in the way that watching a Lions tour isn’t quite the same as watching the Six Nations…
Whilst the landscape is beyond Wales, the book has Welsh influences and a strong Welsh current. This comes from the language you use.
Yes, absolutely. The language Mai speaks, and thinks in, is inspired by Welsh. I tried to give her a Welsh mindset (as much as one can, given that the book is set in an ancient past). So, the language is important, but there are other ideas about being bilingual, fitting in or standing out, being part of a community that can feel on the edge of things, on the edge of attention. There are also themes of betrayal in the book – about whether or not one should stick with a community one is born into, or whether there are things to be gained by leaving, which are also inspired by my own connection with Wales.
The language is exquisite. I understand you created a database of idioms directly translated from Welsh. How did you hit upon this idea and did you have any favourite phrases?
I’m not sure where the idea came from now. I think I was looking at ways other writers have approached working between languages and I was listening to talks by people like Xiaolu Guo and Nicholas Jose who work between languages. The idea might have come from there. Once I’d had the idea I bought a copy of ‘A Dictionary of Welsh & English Idiomatic Phrases’ by Alun Cowrie and translated it. There are thousands! Some really wonderful ones are ‘to grow small bones’ and ‘to see your apron strings grow short’ for being pregnant. I also really enjoy some of the euphemisms for death, like ‘to go and get your answer’ or to ‘to go and sleep outside’.
How did you find Mai’s voice (and Welsh mindset)?
The technical limitations I set myself dictated her voice a lot – the idioms, for example, tend to be quite ‘earthy’ so she had to be someone close to the land. It was tricky to imagine what a teenager might have sounded like back then. I made her dad a storyteller, so that she could legitimately have more wider frames of reference (like history, religion etc) than an illiterate farmgirl might otherwise have had. After that, there are elements of the plot which I think push her closer to a ‘Welsh mindset’, so things like being bilingual, living close to more powerful communities, and worrying about betraying the community she came from by adapting to her new circumstance.
The problem of the power imbalance between English and Welsh is an interesting one, does the answer lie in education? Did a welsh-medium education give you a perspective on this?
There is definitely a power imbalance between the languages. One is a World Language, the lingua franca of half the world. The other is one of the oldest spoken languages, still clinging on at the edge of Europe.
There are a few things I’d like to see happen. The first is that people stop trying to see them as equivalents. So often people say, ‘What’s the point of learning Welsh? Why not learn a useful language like Spanish?’ But, *if you already speak one World Language* then all bets are off. English will serve you well anywhere you go; you’ve got your useful language. So, your second (or third, etc) language should be anything that gives you pleasure, be that Welsh or Klingon (or Spanish, sure!). And, connecting with a language that stretches back thousands of years has got to be pretty pleasurable. It’s like visiting a National Park, or a gallery or theatre, it can just be a thing you do because you think it’s cool.
The second thing I’d like to see is for everyone to worry less about ‘fluency’ (including myself!). The ability to speak a language is a spectrum; no-one knows all the words of a language. So, if all you know is ‘diolch’ and ‘bore da’, then use those and feel fine about saying ‘I’m a beginner’. Or, if you get tangled up with mutations, power through, knowing you’ll be understood just fine. Perfection is the enemy of done, after all.
I don’t think I thought very much about these things when I was at school. A Welsh medium education was just, you know, my life. It was only when I was older that I realised that my parents had made something of a political choice with the school they chose.
How important is authenticity and how far should a writer go to achieve this?
It’s important that your reader believes in the world you’ve created. It’s actually half the battle – if a reader 100% believes the setting, then they will suspend their disbelief for the rest of the story/characters. The easiest way to write a believable setting is to do good research and simply describe whatever it is you’ve found out. If there are obvious anachronisms, then the reader might notice it’s *all* made up. Having said that, it can be really interesting to deliberately use anachronisms in historical fiction – I’m thinking of something like Alex Wheatle’s ‘Cane Warriors’ which uses current London vernacular in an 18th century West Indies setting; it does this – I think – to highlight that we just don’t know what the ‘authentic’ voices would have sounded like; they have been erased. So the ‘inauthenticity’ points to the violence that was done. At the end of the day, the duty of the writer is to the needs of the book they are writing, not to historical accuracy.
The split narrative creates real mystery and intrigue. Were there any difficulties in composing a non-chronological narrative and what spurred you to write it in this way?
It was actually just a really practical solution to a writing problem. The finale of the story is based on a traditional legend called ‘The Treachery of the Long Knives’. The legend is a very male story. If I’d ended the book with that legend, it would have taken the spotlight off Mai, which I didn’t want at all. BUT, it’s such a dramatic story, it would have been weird to put it in the middle of the book. My solution was to write a really long epilogue and spread it out through the book. The reader moves between before-the-treachery and after-the-treachery with the actual moment of treachery where you would expect it to be, at the end. I don’t know if I’ve explained it well, but it wasn’t that I set out to compose a non-chronological narrative per se. The narrative was actually a solution to a different problem I had.
By Noel Sylvestre (1847-1915)
Is the legend of Gwrtheyrn something you were aware of from school?
To be honest, I couldn’t tell you when I first heard about it. We definitely read all kinds of Welsh legends while I was in school. I learned to read using a reading scheme called ‘stori a chwedl’ which was jam-packed with quite gory stuff (the horse’s eyelids story from Branwen was particularly disturbing when I was in primary school). I was reminded of it in conversation with Cathy Butler, a children’s writer who is also a lecturer in Cardiff. She reminded me of the story when we were talking about the lack of female characters in early medieval literature – though Gwrtheyrn is called Vortigern in the version she knew. My version of him evolved to fit the story. He’s the person I needed him to be, rather than me trying to capture a ‘real’ version.
So many brilliant books from Wales use a folk tale as a seed or even framework for their stories. The Snow Spider, The Owl Service, Cantre’r Gwaelod. Many people see folk tales as holding a mirror up to society so that our values and principles can be taught/preserved. Does The Short Knife hold a mirror up to Wales (and England) / Britain?
Oh and don’t forget The Grey King, I love that book! I really hope The Short Knife holds up a mirror, for sure. I want us to remember how much the kingdom has evolved over the centuries, and how much of what we consider as ‘English’ or ‘British’ are actually imported ideas. We are an island nation formed by the movement of people.
The book has many parallels to today – were these deliberately planned from the outset?
I’d say yes, and no. They weren’t planned right from the outset, but early on during the writing, the Brexit vote happened, and all the aftermath of that like the rise in reports of racists attacks. I couldn’t help but think about the island’s relationship with the continent – how we often think of ourselves as separate, but actually have a rich and complex shared history. I also wanted to hold a mirror up to all the people I heard saying rubbish like, ‘England for the English’ and remind people that the English were once ‘invaders’ too (and I use that word very advisedly!).
It seems that you approached The Short Knife very differently to previous books. Has The Short Knife changed you as a writer?
I think so, yes. I’m working on a book just now, and I’m much more willing to write about Wales than I was. I’m also much more aware of language and playfulness of style, whereas I think in the past I thought plot was the most important thing. I’m more interested in seeing where exploration takes me, without worrying right from the beginning whether something is a good idea or not.
The book seems suited to a YA audience – was this audience in mind when you were writing and what do you hope young readers get out of it?
Yes, the themes of identity and community – as well as betrayal, which is quite a big part of it – were just a bit too mature for Middle Grade readers. Also, there’s a fair chance that the language would alienate young readers. So, it was always intended as YA. Having said that, a lot of adults have enjoyed it too. I’m certain that what we bring to a piece of art (be it books, films, music etc) has a huge impact on what we get out of it. So, I think that, for example, a young person who speaks one language at home and a different one outside will get something from the book which is quite different to what a monolingual speaker would get. But I hope that there are ideas about not reaching for easy answers to complex problems in there. I also hope that the wide range of female characters model female power in lots of different ways – there isn’t just one way to use your voice. I hope young readers see those ideas there, at least!
And what do you think your readers will learn from Mai?
For me, I think she comes to understand that the world is more complex than she thought at the beginning. Initially, everything is so black and white. But, over time, she sees that everyone can make stupid or thoughtless decisions; that even ‘villains’ can be loved by their families. That’s what I see in Mai’s development, and that’s what I’d like young people to take away from the book, really. Mai does come out of the trauma with a stronger sense of self, but she also has a better understanding of other people’s minds too.
The Short Knife was longlisted for the Carnegie and is now shortlisted for the Tir na n-Og. What is the significance of awards for you?
A writer friend of mine often plays a game: ‘Would you prefer tonnes of sales or good reviews – you can’t have both?’ It’s a brutal, but fun game. With some books I’d choose sales, with others reviews, it depends on what I was trying to do when I wrote the book. Good reviews, and, being nominated for awards like the Tir na n-Og, mean that people have read and reflected on your work – on whether it’s been bold and pushed at the boundaries of the field. I guess award nominations can validate risk taking.
So do you feel validated? And what was the biggest risk for you?
It’s a huge accolade for me, for sure. I grew up seeing books with ‘Tir na n-Og Winner’ stickers on their cover, so it feels really close to home. I’m thrilled about it. In terms of risk, there are lots of ways that The Short Knife was a risk. Two of the biggest are the language and the period. The rules I made for myself risk alienating a reader (and I know some readers have been alienated, I get that), it might simply be *too weird*. And the period is not one we study much. If you’re writing historical fiction, people are much more comfortable with the Tudors, or the second World War, and so on. the periods that are on the school curriculum. The 5th century was way leftfield, but *shrugs* it’s a time I’m really curious about.
Along with RS Thomas and Islwyn Ffowc Elis, you must be among the most renowned literary exports from North East Wales. Is your writing, and in particular The Short Knife, influenced by any Welsh writers?
Aw, my mum loves RS, so she’d be chuffed to hear you say that. There were three writers that were actually very influential. As I did this as a PhD I ended up writing a lot about them! Two are uncontroversial (and brilliant), G R Gemin and Catherine Johnson – I love the exploration of transnational identities in their own work. The third is much more controversial – Caradoc Evans. He wrote ‘My People’ in the early 20th century, which is a collection of short stories that do not reflect well on the Welsh. He was pretty much shunned thereafter, for airing Wales’ dirty laundry before an English public. For someone wanting to write in the space between Wales and England he was a guide – and a warning!
Tell me about the title. Was it always thus?
I *think* so. I can’t remember it ever having a different title. I think as soon as I knew the Treachery of the Long Knives was going to be a major component, I liked the idea of Mai being a ‘short knife’ in contrast to the men. Back then everyone would have had their own knife, worn on their belt, for all kinds of simple domestic tasks. I liked the idea of something innocuous coming to be significant.
I wonder if you could recommend other books. A kind of “If you enjoyed The Short Knife then you will love…”
Ooh, yes please! There are some amazing YA historical fiction writers working just now. The voice in ‘Cane Warriors’ by Alex Wheatle is just amazing. Everything Tanya Landman has ever written is fire. I also love Catherine Johnson’s work, especially ‘The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo’.
What’s next for Elen Caldecott?
I’m working on a novel for middle grade readers just now. It’s set in North Wales, but has a big dollop of fantasy in it, as well as the village life I saw as I grew up. I’m really enjoying bringing in more Wales into my writing than I ever have before.
This interview took place between Elen Caldecott and Simon Fisher over a number of months. I am really grateful to Elen for her patience (not least with my questions) and for her generous and thoughtful answers. Diolch Elen.
Do get yourself a copy of The Short Knife from your local bookshop. You can follow Elen on Twitter or visit her website. If you enjoyed this interview, I can strongly recommend the Just Imagine podcast that features Elen talking in more detail about this extraordinary book.
QUOTED: "a story whose easy style makes for an enjoyable and page-turning read."
Caldecott, Elen
How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini
Bloomsbury, 2010, pp208, 5.99 [pounds sterling] 978 1 4088 0574 9
This is a classic children's mystery story. Three friends and a dog solve a crime and outwit a gang of shady characters. The tried and trusted formula is lifted out of the mundane by the pace and humour of the telling and the believably quirky characters, all of them slight misfits. Like true friends they quarrel and look out for each other in turns, each feeling sympathy for the others' circumstances. Mixed-race Ali misses his dad who has deserted his mother; spiky Caitlin's mother is dead; and red-haired Gez's easy-going family is so large that they barely notice whether he is there or not.
What I particularly liked was the recognition and portrayal of children's rich imaginary lives in the tradition of Nesbit and Ransome. One minute Ali is an expert tracker leading an expedition across the frozen grass of the housing estate, then he becomes Tensing Norgay scaling the heights of Everest as he climbs the stairs of his tower block. Gez borrows his mum's make-up bag to make a CSI kit.
The occasional mismatch between the real and the imaginary provides some of the humour in a story whose easy style makes for an enjoyable and page-turning read.
Kathryn Tyson
Tyson, Kathryn
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
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Tyson, Kathryn. "Caldecott, Elen: How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini." School Librarian, vol. 58, no. 4, winter 2010, p. 226. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A245116001/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=161e3665. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
QUOTED: "Written with a great dose of humour, so typical for this author, The Mystery of Wickworth Manor is a lovely adventure story."
Caldecott, Elen
The Mystery of Wickworth Manor
Bloomsbury, 2012, 208pp, 5.99 [pounds sterling]
978 1 4088 2048 3
Paige and Curtis are sent on a school trip to Wickworth Manor, the local stately home, where they're supposed to get used to the idea of the transition from primary to secondary school. Paige and Curtis couldn't be more different: she is cheeky and confident, he is shy and likes to keep himself to himself. However, gradually the two of them grow to become very good friends when they join forces to explore the mysterious house and solve the mystery behind a painting of a young black servant. It turns out that a couple of centuries ago the black boy lived in Wickworth Manor and it's up to Paige and Curtis to find out why his painting has been left to be forgotten, away from the other portraits in the manor.
Written with a great dose of humour, so typical for this author, The Mystery of Wickworth Manor is a lovely adventure story. It successfully combines real-life drama concerning children's worries about changing schools and whether they're going to fit in and find new friends, with a thrilling mystery which makes the two main characters realise that they have more in common than they could ever imagine. It's a fun and light read for boys and girls who may be too young to explore darker mystery stories at this stage. It's a perfect introduction to the genre, and additionally it may get its readers interested in historic houses in their area, which may have fantastic real stories of their own, some of which quite possibly involving an element of mystery, too.
Marzena Currie
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
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Currie, Marzena. "Caldecott, Elen: The Mystery of Wickworth Manor." School Librarian, vol. 60, no. 3, autumn 2012, p. 162. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A304942448/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=363f1711. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
QUOTED: "The writing is cleverly persuasive, and there is much to discuss long after the mystery has been solved. This is story telling at its finest."
Caldecott, Elen
Diamonds and Daggers (The Marsh Road Mysteries)
Illustrated by Nathan Reed
Bloomsbury, 2015, pp240, 5.99[pounds sterling]
978 1 4088 4752 7
Firm friends Piotr, Minnie, and Andrew are bursting with excitement when world famous actress Betty Massino arrives to star in the latest play at their local theatre. Everything turns sour when Betty's diamonds are stolen, and the prime suspect is Piotr's dad--security guard at the theatre.
What follows is a race-against-time sleuthing adventure with enough red herrings to keep a fishmonger in air fresheners for life. Our trio of adventurers are soon joined by twins Sylvie and Flora, and the unlikely five join forces to convince the authorities of Mr Domek's innocence before he takes his family 'home' to Poland for good.
Beneath the surface of this gentle crime drama, we are encouraged to consider the effect of casual racism against the adult Domeks, who are subject to suspicion and disrespect on a daily basis. Poitr, born in the UK, is horrified at the prospect of leaving home and friends to live in a country that has only ever been a holiday destination--would he be treated in Poland as his father is in England? Would his foreign accent be the source of similar ridicule? Readers are left to form their own conclusion, but the writing is cleverly persuasive, and there is much to discuss long after the mystery has been solved.This is story telling at its finest, and I can see 'The Marsh Road Mysteries' becoming firm favourites for a new generation of mystery readers.
Thompson, Helen
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
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Thompson, Helen. "Caldecott, Elen: Diamonds and Daggers (The Marsh Road Mysteries)." School Librarian, vol. 63, no. 2, summer 2015, p. 101. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A419268371/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=53fc52f8. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
QUOTED: "a thoroughly enjoyable mystery."
Caldecott, Elen
Spooks and Scooters (The Marsh
Road Mysteries)
Bloomsbury, 2016, pp224, 5.99[pounds sterling]
978 1 4088 5273 6
The Marsh Road sleuths are back, and in fine form. Twins Flora and Sylvie are devastated when their holiday is cancelled at the last minute, and when they find out it is due to a theft from their father's business--well, there's no stopping them. Roping in their ever willing friends they set about uncovering a dastardly plot, with a bit of soul searching for the spiky Sylvie along the way.
A thoroughly enjoyable mystery, complete with a masked ball and a bit of crawling through a roof space, refreshingly plausible in terms of what the children are actually able to do. Caldecott has recently written a short article pondering the lack of working class protagonists in children's books. In it she shares a little of her own childhood, hopping between middle and working class households, but admits to needing much research to ensure her own working class characters are accurately drawn. I think she succeeds--resisting the urge to labour the point, but also finding more realistic solutions to problems caused by financial differences between her characters.
Although the issue of class in children's books is possibly a bit more complex than the article leads us to believe, and I'm sure there are more authors with first-hand experience of life without a silver spoon, it opens an interesting debate that is well worth having.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Thompson, Helen. "Caldecott, Elen: Spooks and Scooters (The Marsh Road Mysteries)." School Librarian, vol. 64, no. 2, summer 2016, p. 100. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A457107091/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=65c13aa0. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.