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Linda Buckley-Archer is the author of the popular Gideon trilogy.
The Edge of the Forest: Could you give us a bit of background about yourself—I understand that you, like a
certain Ms Rowling, used to teach French?
Linda Buckley-Archer: As it happens, I did teach French in a College for a few years but that was quite some time
ago. Both my parents were teachers and I still think teaching is one of the most worthwhile jobs on the planet. I studied
French Literature at university and lived there for a year and have been a Francophile ever since. I could not resist
setting some of The Tar Man in France and one of my favourite characters in the trilogy, the Marquis de Montfaron,
is an 18th-century scientist and philosopher. He is named after Mont Faron just outside Toulon where a good friend of mine
lives.
As a child I always had a book in my hand. From a very early age I always felt that I would end up being a writer.
However, it was only when my youngest child (I have a boy and a girl—now teenagers) was about to start school that I
began writing in earnest. I studied scriptwriting and journalism and was a freelance journalist for a while. Writing
articles is great. Getting the commissions to write them is the tricky part. I have also written plays both for radio and
television—which I loved and hope to continue doing. The only trouble with studying the greats of literature for years
is that you can become hyper-critical about your own writing. For years I quite literally wrote nothing but beautifully
crafted paragraphs! It was only when I attended a creative writing class eight years ago that I completed my first short
story. After that there was no stopping me! I still feel happy in the world of academia, though, and I am currently
completing a practice-based PhD in Creative Writing at the University of London.
The Edge of the Forest: I read that you were inspired to write the Gideon trilogy after reading Liza
Picard's book about Dr. Johnson's London. Did you ever consider writing straight historical novels, rather than novels that
combine historical and Science Fiction elements?
Linda Buckley-Archer: I am a big admirer of Liza Picard's book but it was actually listening to Lucy Moore, an expert
on 18th-century criminality that prompted me to write Gideon the Cutpurse. I was struck by the idea that the
types of crime committed then could bring to life this fascinating century in a very direct and vivid way—footpads,
plumpers, highwaymen, link boys, anglers...It sent my imagination soaring. The reasons I did not write the story as a
straight historical novel are, firstly that I wanted to see that age through the eyes of contemporary children so that we
could share their amazement/revulsion/fascination/amusement and, secondly, because the book is primarily for children, I
wanted there to be an element of fantasy in it. I also hoped that it might be possible to extract a fair amount of humour
out of the situation. So, for instance, I have the children being offered the Byng family's favourite dish, calf's head
pie, and I have Peter taunting Parson Ledbury with the fact that America ("that bothersome little colony") would break away
from British rule and become a superpower. I am currently tempted to have The Tar Man react to being given a
parking ticket in Book III...I may well write a straight historical novel one day—it will be a question of finding a
compelling story.
The Edge of the Forest: Have you always liked time-travel narratives ? If so, which are your favourites (books,
films, TV shows)?
Linda Buckley-Archer: Like the rest of the world, I used to love watching Dr Who but I cannot honestly
remember deliberately seeking out time travel books. I think I enjoyed A Yankee in the Court of King Arthur as a
child. Genres come and go out of fashion. I remember being advised when I started to write Gideon that
publishers would not buy time travel fiction as it had all been done before. I also remember thinking petulantly, well, I
want to, it will be fun! Nowadays I positively avoid reading/watching time travel stories because I don't want to be
influenced by other people's ideas.
The Edge of the Forest: Are the Tar Man and Gideon Seymour based on real people?
Linda Buckley-Archer: No.
The Edge of the Forest: How did you come up with the idea of an anti-gravity machine making time-travel possible?
Linda Buckley-Archer: Several years ago I came across an article about anti-gravity on the NASA website. This
prompted me to read up on the relationship between gravity and time and take some advice and the idea slowly developed from
there. My attitude to science/science fiction is similar to my attitude to history in the novel. On the one hand I have
tried to recreate the eighteenth century with care and attention to detail and have then taken terrible liberties with real
historical characters such as Samuel Johnson, Queen Charlotte and Erasmus Darwin. Similarly, although no scientist, I have
tried to become at least familiar with the concepts of anti-gravity, dark energy, space-time foam, etc. Whilst I have
needed to invent a physical mechanism to get the children back in time, I didn't want to use magic. It was important for me
to create the illusion, at least, of a device that could manage it. All of my fiction about time travel is based on current
scientific speculation on how one might create a time machine plus some extrapolation concerning the properties of dark
energy. Out of interest there's a diagram of a fictional anti-gravity machine on the Gideon website.
The Edge of the Forest: I read that movie companies were fighting for the rights to make the trilogy into a film—how
do you feel about that? Do you have a fantasy cast in mind?
Linda Buckley-Archer: Several film production companies are reading The Gideon Trilogy, but as only one of
the three books has been published, it is very early days! Because I have a background in scriptwriting, it is true that I
tend to see things filmically and I should love to see it made into a film. I think it could be adapted very successfully
for the big screen. As for the fantasy casting, I think Stephen Fry would make a perfect Parson Ledbury—but otherwise
casting is such a tricky process I would not dream of interfering if a film were ever to happen!
The Edge of the Forest: Which, if any, authors have influenced your writing?
Linda Buckley-Archer: That's a difficult one. None consciously—but you learn how to write by reading—so in
some ways I guess that everyone I've read has helped. I really admire Jane Austen, William Boyd, Margaret Atwood, and
Proust—but I am quite sure that The Gideon Trilogy does not resemble any of their works! On the other hand,
scriptwriting theorists such as Philip Parker, Robert McKee, Linda Seger and Syd Field have definitely taught me a lot
about the mechanics of telling a story.
The Edge of the Forest: Did you have a favourite author/book as a child? Are there any children's books from your
childhood that you still read and enjoy?
Linda Buckley-Archer: I view them differently now, but I lived and breathed C. S. Lewis' Narnia stories,
all The Borrowers books and everything by E. E. Nesbit. There was a book I must re-read because it is so long
since I've seen a copy and I adored it: Eric Linklater's Wind on the Moon. As I grew older I really appreciated
Elizabeth Goudge, Rosemary Sutcliffe (my favourite was Eagle of the Ninth), Alan Garner, and Ursula le Guin. I
discovered Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit whilst doing A-Levels and remember how wonderful it
felt to be transported to a different, fully fleshed out world. I have recently discovered Kevin Crossley-Holland's
re-working of the Arthurian legends and have re-discovered (and find myself in awe of) J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
The Edge of the Forest: Will you go on writing once you've finished the Gideon trilogy? Do you consider yourself a
children's/teens author, or do you write without a particular audience in mind?
Linda Buckley-Archer: Even if no one wanted to publish me I know that I should keep on writing. I can't tell you how
much I have enjoyed writing The Gideon Trilogy. I have another big project in mind which is not a sequel but which
has some links to The Gideon Trilogy. I was a journalist and a scriptwriter before I became a children's novelist,
so, no, I don't consider myself someone who writes only for children. I do intend to write more drama for radio which is a
fabulous medium for a writer and I'd love to write something for the theatre. However, for the next few years, at least, my
primary projects will be aimed at children/young adults which, in practice, hopefully means that anyone from 8 to 88 might
enjoy them!
The Edge of the Forest: Do you have a favourite spot in which to write?
Linda Buckley-Archer: I have a tiny study where my computer is perched among piles of books and files. Unfortunately
it is often too distracting because I get seduced by emails and the internet. In truth my best writing gets done a) on
trains b) in the café's or art galleries or c) in bed at dawn.
The Edge of the Forest: Were you a big reader as a child/teenager and did you have a lot of books at home, or were
you a regular library visitor?
Linda Buckley-Archer: I was a huge reader. I spent all my pocket money on Puffin books and adored everything about
libraries. I was particularly fond of the public library in Lichfield and I love my local library in Teddington, too.
The Edge of the Forest: In The Tar Man you killed off one of your characters—was that difficult to do?
Did you, as JKR famously did, cry about it?
Linda Buckley-Archer: I am afraid to say that I did cry. But not as much, I suspect, as I am going to cry towards
the end of Lord Luxon (taps side of nose knowingly).
The Gideon Trilogy:
U.S. editions
Gideon the cutpurse. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 1-4169-1525-7.
(Paperback: The Time Travelers. Aladdin, 2007. ISBN: 1-4169-1526-5.)
The Time Thief. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. ISBN: 1-4169-1527-3.
(Forthcoming December, 2007; U.K. title The Tar Man.)
U.K. editions
Gideon the cutpurse. Simon & Schuster Children's Books, 2006. ISBN: 1-4169-1655-5.
(Paperback edition: Simon & Schuster Children's Books, 2007. ISBN: 1-4169-1657-1.)
The Tar Man.Simon & Schuster Children's Books, 2007. ISBN: 1-4169-1709-8. (Out September 3.)
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