Author Interview: Peter Holland / Benjamin Squirrell and the Hadleigh Workhouse
JMR-Welcome to the Books
Delight, Peter. Tell our readers where you live, what you do for fun and what
does the perfect day look like?
PH- Hello and thank you for
interviewing me. I have lived in Hadleigh, Suffolk, for four years, having been
born and lived most of my life in London. I did live for almost a year in
Chicago in the early 1980s, but that’s another story…Five years ago I stopped
doing ‘normal’ work after 30 years as a high school teacher and eight years in
business. It may not always be ‘fun’ but I like to keep fit and healthy, so
exercise with a short jog and some gym work once or twice a week, but mostly
walking our 20 months-old border collie, Hunter. He will happily cover 7-8
miles a day, so visiting strategically placed cafes enhances these excursions,
adding an element of fun and enjoyment.
JMR-What’s your favorite
historical time period? Why?
PH- Early modern (1500-1800).
Although medieval and some 20th century as well. I loved teaching
early modern to students aged 12-14. There are so many great elements; the
Tudors and Reformation, English Civil War, Industrial Revolution, to name but a
few. After finishing teaching history at high school, I indulged myself by
doing an MA in the early modern history, which led to me attempting to write
historical fiction.
JMR-Who is your favorite
historical figure? Why? If you could ask them one question, what would it be?
PH- Hmm, so many, but probably
either of the Cromwells (Thomas or Oliver). Question: Did you regret…?
JMR- How did you come to be a
writer of historical fiction?
PH- I’ve touched on that above
when I did an MA and thought about something I learnt making a good story. It
was also inspired by a short holiday to Istanbul four years ago. As part of the
MA we did a unit about the struggle for power in the Mediterranean, and I became
curious to learn more about the Ottoman Empire. Standing inside the Hagia
Sophia, a Byzantine Cathedral built in the 7th century, took my
breath away. I became more and more interested, and it inspired my first two
novels about the white slave trade.
JMR- Did you visit anyone of
the places in your book? Where did you feel closest to your characters?
PH- My latest novel, Benjamin
Squirrell and the Hadleigh Workhouse, it is set here in the small town in
which I live, so many of the places are evocative of what happens in the novel.
I particularly like the large willow tree by the River Brett, where I begin
chapter one. The Guildhall that accommodated the town’s workhouse is in the
centre of the town and I walk past it most days. Along one side the tiny
windows are about ten feet from the ground and still have the bars that would
have prevented inmates from escaping.
JMR- Peter, tell us about your
new book, Benjamin Squirrell and the Hadleigh Workhouse.
PH- Unlike my first three novels,
which are set in the 17th century, Ben Squirrell is set at
the end of the 18th in 1793. My MA dissertation was about the town
workhouse and how it was distinct. In February 2020 I gave a talk about the
subject at the local library, at which several people suggested my next novel
should be set in the town’s workhouse. A month later Covid arrived and I set
about planning and writing. I was time-rich and completed the first draft in
November. My fictional account of what could happen if the workhouse master was
corrupt and immoral was inspired by the real case of the Andover Workhouse
Scandal in 1840, which led to changes in the law regarding the management of
workhouses.
JMR-What projects do you have
in the pipeline?
PH- Right now, I’m trying to
explore ways of promoting Ben Squirrell, so thank you again for this interview.
I have started a sequel, set twelve years later in 1805, so some of the
characters from Ben Squirrell can be included. A new development is the
inclusion of a young Jewish boy who escapes from the Russian Pale Settlement
with his parents. They hope to get to London’s East End, where they have
family, or even New York. But having got to Kalingrad and then Amsterdam, they
reach Harwich, Essex, on England’s east coast. The young boy, Abie, becomes
orphaned on the road to London, and is taken
to Hadleigh’s workhouse, after a spell in the town’s Pest House. Early
days and there’s no hurry…
I also spend quite a bit of time
helping others with getting their novels ship-shape, with proof reading and
editing.
JMR- Tell our readers how to
find you on social media and the web.
PH- I am on FB, Twitter and
Instagram, although I don’t use them as much as I should. My books are all to be
found on the publisher website, www.brigand.london,
as well as ebooks through Amazon/Kindle
JMR- What question were you
hoping I’d ask but didn’t?
PH- “Do you mind if I recommend
your novel to the CEO of Netflix as a must for a blockbuster movie?”
JMR- Best Answer! Thanks for a great chat Peter and good luck with your writing. Readers, I've included a link to Peter's Book on Amazon. I have not yet read Benjamin Squirrell but I did read Peter's book, Susan Bounty which I thought was really good! I will post a review soon!
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