Interview with Author Marianne Ratcliffe

Welcome Readers toanother installment of our author interview series. Today we have the pleasureof chatting with Marianne Ratcliffe, author of two sapphic historical romancenovels.

JMR-Welcome to theBooks Delight, Marianne. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for funand what does the perfect day look like?

MR- I live in Chesire withmy wife and three dogs (two Cavalier King Charles spaniels and a black labradorwe’ve inherited because my wife’s mum can no longer look after him). A perfectday would be taking the dogs for a walk on a crisp autumn morning – we arefortunate to have so many lovely walks nearby, as we are right next to the PeakDistrict. This would be followed by tea and cake, or an all-day breakfast if wewere being particularly indulgent! The rest of the day would be spent writingor reading, before finishing off with some TV and a glass or two of wine.

JMR-What’s yourfavorite historical time period? Why?

MR- The Victorian era,because it was a time of such huge change – social, scientific, philosophical. Althoughthere was still great disparity, we start to see real opportunities for womenand for social mobility. This sense of revolution, that all things are possible,makes it the perfect backdrop for telling stories. It is also a period that isvery accessible to modern day readers and writers, with so much literature andinformation available for research.

JMR-Who is yourfavorite historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what wouldit be?

MR- Jane Austen, withouta doubt. Because she was clever, witty and observant, and because she wrote sixof my favourite books. I would ask what would have happened in her twounfinished novels (The Watsons and Sanditon) and what was in those letters thatCassandra felt she had to burn for the sake of your reputation.

JMR- You trained as abiochemist; how did you come to be a writer of historical fiction?

MR-You can’t be ascientist without having an interest in history. All scientific discoveries arebuilt on what has come before. Without understanding what is already known, youend up going in the wrong direction, or reinventing the wheel. However, my loveof historical fiction comes reading novels written in past eras. Austen,Dickens, Trollope and Gaskell transported me into their worlds, and I love torevisit them in my own writing.

JMR- Did you visitanyone of the places in your book? Where did you feel closest to yourcharacters?

MR- My settings arefictional but based in reality. My first historical novel, The Secret ofMatterdale Hall is a gothic mystery set in Yorkshire. When I was younger, Iloved hiking, and crossed the Yorkshire Moors more than once. Those experienceshelped me create the mood for Matterdale Hall, which is of chilly winds and isolation,where breathtaking beauty lives side by side with terrible danger.

I also enjoy visitingNational Trust or English Heritage properties. I never visit a country housewithout an eye for authentic details that I can include in my writing.

JMR- Marianne tell usabout your new book, A Lady to Treasure.

MR- A Lady toTreasure is a traditional-style Regency romance (closed door, languageappropriate to the period), but the main love story just happens to be betweentwo women. Louisa Silverton has been raised to value only money and profit, butwhen she meets the unconventional and charismatic Sarah Davenport, she startsto understand that there may be things of greater value than money. Sarah isworking tirelessly to save her family estate from ruin. She despises marriageas an institution that subjugates women and cannot understand why someone sointelligent as Louisa is so eager to sacrifice herself for financial gain.

I like my stories to beabout more than just two people falling in love, and in addition to the centralromance, A Lady to Treasure explores contradictions around money, and whata strong, independent woman might achieve within the bounds of the social andlegal constraints of the time.

JMR-What projects doyou have in the pipeline?

MR- I’m currently workingon a book set in 1870s Kansas – it started out as a fairly standard Western,with a romance subplot (sapphic, of course!) but in the course of research Irealized there was much more going in Kansas at that time than we generally seein film and literature. It was such a fascinating time, politically andsocially. Kansas was a real melting pot of ethnicities, religions andbackgrounds, and the choices people made in the second half of the nineteenthcentury had huge implications. I’m enjoying weaving these aspects into thenarrative.

JMR- Tell our readershow to find you on social media and the web.

MR- I have a website (www.marianneratcliffe.com),where you can sign up to my newsletter. I am also active on Twitter/X andinstagram (@ratcliffe_mj)

JMR- What question wereyou hoping I’d ask but didn’t?

MR-I often get askedwhy I write sapphic historical fiction, when by far the biggest market forlesbian fiction is contemporary romance. The simple answer is that many of myfavourite books were written in the Victorian and Regency periods but it’salmost impossible to find any that feature lesbians. If sapphic love was hintedit, it was usually in the context of moral depravity. The lack of lesbian andgay representation in the literature of the past is a constant reminder thatacceptance of homosexuality is recent (and still not complete). In my writing,I try to create the illusion that my book was written in the relevant era. Iwant the reader to imagine picking up The Secret of Matterdale Hall or ALady to Treasure in dusty old library next to a copy of Pride andPrejudice or The Woman in White. It seems to me there is a gap tofill, a need to remind everyone that lesbians have existed throughout history. It’sjust that we weren’t allowed to tell our stories back then.

JMR- Thank you, Marianne,for stopping by. Your books look really great! Readers, I’ve included a link toMarianne’s books below. Please be sure to check them out.