Behind the Pen with Fiona McIntosh
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I am thrilled to welcome Fiona McIntosh as my guest for Behind the Pen today. To publish an interview with one of my favourite authors is such an honour and I’m incredibly grateful to Fiona for taking time out of her book tour to indulge me. Over to you, Fiona…
What provided the initial inspiration for The Pearl Thief?
I always begin with place and once I settled on Prague, my mind helplessly roamed to arguably its most painful part of history, which was the Occupation that was part of the early series of aggressions by the Germans that began WWII. And once you’re in that timeline, in a country that was Occupied, it is hard to ignore the plight of the Jewish people. And so I put it all together in my mind that it would be a survivor who escapes the German clutch and belongs to an aristocratic Czech Jew family. I needed something that would kick the modern part of the story into action and decided a magnificent piece of jewellery would form the impetus. The fabulous pearls so resonant in The Pearl Thief came from a visit to the British Museum many years ago where I saw an incredible piece of jewellery from the early middle ages. It was in solid, articulated gold and could well have been a Viking piece. While I never forgot it, over the years my recall of it dulled and I was convinced it was a single strand of magnificent pearls. The Museum spent hours looking for it and was as baffled as I until we discovered my error to much laughter. Nevertheless, the extraordinary piece remained as perfect, massive pearls in my mind and I decided they were Ottoman, given to a favourite odalisque of the Murad who later made her his first and most important wife. I then built a provenance around this piece of how it travelled from Constantinople in the twelfth century to Russia and later into Eastern Europe finding its way into an aristocratic Jewish family. It was fun creating that fiction alone.
What is your favourite character from The Pearl Thief and why?
Without doubt it’s Katerina. For the first time in my writing career a character arrived into my mind whole. She tapped me on the shoulder while I was researching in Prague and I knew her. I knew everything about her in that moment; how she looked, sounded, her mannerisms, her fashion and tastes. Most importantly, I could touch her fragility and damage. She was a marvellous character to work with.
What is your favourite scene from The Pearl Thief and why?
I don’t know if it’s my favourite scene but I do believe the prologue is vital and sets the tone and undercurrent for the story and was hugely emotional to research and even more powerful to write. There is another scene that is harrowing and writing it was a massive challenge to keep it respectful to the reader who doesn’t know it’s coming and yet ensuring it is full of rage and oxygen and sufficient horror to lay the base for my main character’s damage and decision to turn around and face her demons. This is the story of a survivor so it needs this powerful scene that shreds at one’s emotions. It tormented me to write it but I like it from the point of view that it demanded and found the very best of me to craft it.
I love the scene when Katerina finds her own power within and there’s a killer line when she explains to another character her intention. It’s extremely uplifting and sets the story on a new course.
As you can see, too many scenes to single one out. If I’m pressed for absolute favourite because it brought me pure pleasure to include and to write, then it’s Katerina at Robin Hood’s Bay meeting a character again and I believe it’s one all the readers will love because it gives them a chance to sigh out their tension and worry for her. However, her real adventure is only just beginning but this chapter offers a marvellous release…just for a brief time. 
