11/05/05 - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' website opens as thus:
"June 2004 saw the publication of my sixty-second book. Over the years I have written in a variety of genres, but if you have come to this website knowing who I am, you will probably know one or other of my main series, The Morland Dynasty Series, or the Inspector Bill Slider Mysteries. (If I’m really lucky, you may know both.)"
Three remarkable things stand out in this statement, just as they stood out fairly predominantly when she gave a talk at Bracknell Library on the night of Wednesday 11th May. Firstly, that she has written (now) over sixty-two books; secondly, a large chunk of those are two series: The Morland Dynasty (a family saga to end all sagas) and the Bill Slider Mysteries (a detective series with heart). Thirdly, that Mrs Harrod-Eagles has an unbridled sense of humour. As she begins her talk on the origins of her writing you soon realise that her very nature has never changed. It is evident that this is a woman who writes as true to her heart as she did when her passion for this business first developed.
In her childhood she had a fascination for pony adventures and used to write, as children do, with unabashed enthusiasm, only coming across knowledge of the publishing world when she hit her teens. At that time, writers were fairly innocuous people and though difficult to become published in (you need an ounce of talent) the industry wasn't so filled as it is now with the commercialism of every Tom, Dick and Harry wanting fame and fortune.
Asked what the best tool to be a writer is, and she will answer most definitely that the only way to learn to write is to read, read, read. Back in those young days, Cynthia and her older sister used to read all the time. Libraries would only allow the lending of two books at a time (not the twenty afforded now), and the two of them would borrow two books each in a morning, each would read all four and then they would return in the afternoon. This would confound the librarians, who, using the original card system and leaving it until closing time to resort those borrowers who had borrowed or returned that day. It would take them some time to sort through the stacked cards for the two girls, offering stern advice of: "You shouldn't do it like this."
One book they did come across was a very stoic book on getting published, offering sage advice such as: "If you are to be published, you must be professional about it and use a typewriter. If you cannot afford one, you must work, work, work until you can afford one. If after two years, you have failed to secure yourself one, you aren't cut out for a career as a writer and should give up."
This was especially troublesome for a child of the sixties and typewriters were in short supply for the unessential. Fortunately then her sister was bought one for her sixteenth, though she had no intention of becoming a secretary. It was agreed between the two that Cynthia would be able to type her manuscripts as long as she also typed her sister's work, and so began the arduous process of the one fingered typist (though we are assured that she is now capable of rather speedy 3000 words a day double-handed typing).
By this stage then, Cynthia's pony tales were coming on thick and fast and having researched books that shared her themes and story she set out to post her work to the same publisher, over and over, year after year. Every response was rejection letter and every subsequent rejection became shorter and shorter until Cynthia was sure that she was more a thorn in their side than a lucrative revenue generator.
Having then studied English and Philosophy at university, at age 21 she came upon a competition looking for new writers under the age of 23 in which the winner would be printed by the publisher - The Young Writers Award in 1972. After many months of work she felt sure she stood a chance, but she was taken aback by the entry requirements - entrants needed to send in two copies! Cynthia was still working on the steadfast typewriter… to make copies she would either need to type it again or a miracle.
Her neighbour, working for the civil service, was kind enough to take her book, piece-meal into work and photocopy it. On the closing Friday, Cynthia struggled into inner London with both copies and, breathless, slapped her entry down on the front desk, having missed the 5 o'clock deadline by five minutes. It was accepted nonetheless.
Months went by without a word and then she was short listed with eleven other young writers. She travelled again into London, so as to be physically inspected by the guy running the competition - he needed to be sure she wasn't over the age limit. Also, he wanted to tell her that the short list was two writers, two who they couldn't decide between. The choice became, either share the prize, or one gets the prize and one goes without. Cynthia suggested that if she had truly won then she would like the whole prize, but if she had lost then she would like to share. The publishers weren't biting and so she shared the princely sum of £2,500 with the other winner (at a time when she was earning £2000 a year in her day job).
The two winners went their separate ways and haven't met since, although Cynthia is sure that he is doing well, since his series His Dark Materials, have sold in their millions. Philip Pullman still hasn't reimbursed her for his share in her winnings.
That first book, The Waiting Game, started Cynthia off on her way, though it was still another seven years until she could become a full time writer and give up the day job. In the meantime she whiled away her spare hours (between her two jobs) writing romances under pseudonyms of Emma Woodhouse and Elizabeth Bennett (one publisher remarked… "Isn't that from a Charlotte Bronte novel?"
When a publisher was looking for a historical family saga, Cynthia was in the right position to be put forward by one entrepreneurial agent Mr Cheetham. Initially, this work would comprise of twelve novels covering the life and times of the Morland Dynasty, beginning in the fifteenth century. The saga has been so successful that it is still going strong and has since reached thirty-four books and the First World War.
"From the Wars of the Roses to Queen Victoria’s long reign, England’s history is the rich background to the Morland Dynasty. Morland Place in Yorkshire is the cradle of the dynasty, but war and famine, peace and plenty, love and loyalty, greed and envy spread the lines of the family throughout the country – into the courts of kings and the salons of the Regency, onto the battlefields of Culloden and the Crimea, into the slums surrounding the cotton mills and along the raw permanent ways. Through the centuries the Morlands feud and reconcile themselves, they bloom in times of fortune and shoulder the privations of poverty with stoicism, and their story brings the vivid history of their times to life with extraordinary brilliance.” (Publisher's press release)
In another world, she writes the Bill Slider detective novels, begun as an enterprise to diversify and now a series of eleven novels. She receives accolades from the press, "Reading her is a joy", "Sharp, witty and well-plotted", "Customary biting wit and a complexity all too rare in fiction.", and has as yet received only a minor sprinkling of complaint.
Having travelled through Selby on her way to York, she decided to include it in the Morland Dynasty as a single paragraph in a work of 100,000 words - the characters travel north through Selby. One problem, Cynthia used it as a throw-away passage meant only to add some depth and hopefully provide her readers from Selby a small nod so that they may say, "Hey, I'm on the map."
For one snooty reader, namely the chief historical nut of Selby, this paragraph was enough to boil her blood and cause her great discomfort to the eyes. She wrote a three page letter of complaint about this single paragraph, highlighting the inconsistencies of the church description at the time, where the houses would have been situated and most glaringly, that the characters wouldn't have travelled on that road.
Hoping to satiate and thank the pedant, Cynthia responded, pointing out that it was merely one paragraph and that she had had to research clothing, money, food, religion, politics, lay of the land, plagues, speak and more. The next letter was even longer - apparently some people are never happy.
Aside from this single incident, praise has been constant. The Morland Dynasty web forum brims with readers who relish the mix of history and fiction as much as Cynthia herself enjoys writing it. Many comment on how accurate her descriptions of places are, and in many cases she has never been there herself. Which goes to show her second most useful tool; research.
Just as with movies, glaring mistakes or omissions in books only counter the writer's effort to suspend disbelief in the reader. Cynthia is all too well aware of this and strives to the perfection of ensuring her characters are in the right place at the right time to capture the atmosphere, charm and spectacle of a historical moment. She delights in the moments of war and battle when the plot itself can carry itself, as for example she utilised her early memory of the Hornblower books to help define a truly stunning rendition of the Battle of Waterloo.
But, it hasn't all been plain sailing as Cynthia has had her fair share of rejection. Most troublesome for her in this period however was in her first marriage, when her husband was happiest when the rejections came in, and miserable when she did get somewhere. She has pushed through such trials and stands upon the very secure foundations of a set of master works. For those of you hoping to write… or rather, as many ask her, to be published, Cynthia says, "First, try writing a book." She recalls then that first book that was so forward in its delivery that it has stayed with her. "If you can't do it then you aren't cut out to be a writer."
This isn't blunt rudeness. Cynthia isn't prepared to enamour potential writers and enchant them with possibilities. This is a business and agents and publishers are in it to make money. She has been fortunate with her well received series, but were she not to have been then surely she would still be working the day job and burning the candle at both ends. If you want to write, write… nothing more, nothing less, except of course the reading and the research.
- Richard Howse
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