Author2Author: Jules Watson & Juliet Marillier, pt. 2

The conversation that began yesterday with talk of creating compelling historical characters continues along similar lines in our second installment...

Jules Watson: In your next book, The Dark Mirror, you had to construct a hero, Bridei, with certain traits you wish to explore, and yet you need him to fit into an often brutal Celtic warrior culture. What was your approach to that? You also draw unusual women. One thing I loved in your Sevenwaters trilogy was the difference in the three heroines. Sorcha in Daughter of the Forest was a healer, almost a bit mystical. Liadan in Son of the Shadows was quite dry and down to earth, very easy to relate to--and also a healer to her hero. And poor Fainne in Child of the Prophecy was even more different - she was an agent of the darker forces in the novel. I think, like me, you have interesting things you wish to explore, and so your female characters have to have some sort of power to be pivotal to the story. To make sure they are not passive. Is that critical to you?

Juliet Marillier: The Celts do provide wonderful raw material with their apparent combination of creative energy and almost foolhardy courage in battle. To be more specific, Pictish culture has provided both you and me with an interesting possibility that opens a door beyond the patriarchal model. We've both chosen to adopt the theory that Pictish royal succession was matrilineal, which of course appears to indicate a society in which women played a significant role, perhaps in spiritual observance as well as in political wheeling and dealing. That's one of the great bonuses in writing novels set in 'grey areas' of history on which historians still disagree. As a novelist one can pick and choose whichever options best suit effective storytelling.

In Bridei, the hero of The Dark Mirror, I created a character was based on a real historical person who became a very powerful figure in northern Britain around the period Arthur would have been fighting the Saxons in the south. I wanted to examine the theme of leadership and the concept of charisma in this book, and to show how a perfect king could be created, given the right potential and the right education. The reverse of that was to find out what personal cost there would be in living one's life as that kind of near-godlike monarch. I made Bridei a quiet, devout, scholarly type, but as a high-born Pict he is also required to be a warrior and a decisive leader of men. Fitting him into the culture of his time required me to have him to perform some acts that the contemporary reader may find hard to take, especially in the decisive scene where he proves his worthiness to be a candidate for kingship. I think I've managed to make that acceptable by showing his repugnance at what he has to do, and his will to change certain customs amongst his people.

I did once get accused of creating a passive character in Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest, but I challenged that--women don't need to brandish swords to solve their problems! I do like my women characters to be decisive, or to grow gradually into a knowledge of their own ability to make decisions, find solutions and achieve their personal quests. I think it makes for a strong story if they do that differently from the way a man would do it. Most readers find a story more satisfying if the protagonist's journey is difficult, like Fainne's or indeed like your Rhiann's. As a reader, I love depth of character and compelling human journeys in both fantasy and historical fiction (and, unfortunately, it isn't always there.) The most intricately portrayed secondary worlds or historical settings will not involve me if the characters are not 'real'. That was one reason I enjoyed The White Mare so much--I felt I got to know these people with their flaws and strengths as the story developed.