Interview: Freda Warrington
timid girl in her family’s shadow to an independent woman. Also, did I mention the gorgeous clothes? Your book Dracula the Undead is a direct sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Was it challenging to undertake such a task? Yes, quite intimidating! My thenpublisher, Penguin, asked me to write it to celebrate the 1997 centenary of Dracula first being published. I approached the project as if I had never seen a Dracula movie or read any other vampire novels, as if my only source materials were the diaries and journals of the original characters. I wrote it entirely from the viewpoint of those characters (with a couple of new ones of my own). I aimed to stick to the authentic tone of Stoker’s novel, although there is a deliberate subtext of feminism and sexuality that was rather suppressed
Words: Rachel Rowlands Freda Warrington is the author of fantasy, horror and supernatural novels including Dracula the Undead, the Blood Wine sequence (recently reissued by Titan books) and the Blackbird series. As part of Gothic Manchester, I chatted to Freda about vampires, the Gothic, and her sources of inspiration. Your Blood Wine books contain a lot of gothic elements, not in the least because of the vampires! Did you draw any inspiration from gothic literature or film? Of course! My mum let me stay up to watch Hammer Horror films when I was very small, and I was captivated by Christopher Lee. Bram Stoker’s Dracula and other 19th century stories such as Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu had a big effect on my imagination. I loved the idea of the “mysterious stranger” – male or female – who was charismatic and dangerous, yet lonely and tragic. I was more intrigued by mystery and allure 16 than by gory elements. One thing that
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drove me mad about vampire stories was that the vampire always ended up being hunted down and staked! I began writing my own vampire fiction because I wanted to see the vampire as a person in their own right, and I craved a different ending. I started my Blood Wine series in the early 1980s, long before the recent deluge of vampire fiction. Anne Rice was, I think, the first person to present a story from the vampire’s point of view and I loved that. However, she still showed vampires and humans to be separated by an impenetrable barrier. My own novel took shape because I wanted to explore what would happen if a human (Charlotte) could break through that barrier of predator and prey, and come to know this enigmatic, alluring stranger (Karl) on equal terms, and the transformative effect it would have on them both. Your choice of setting always struck me as particularly gothic too, especially Charlotte’s house. Did any real locations inspire you?
Oh yes. If you mean Charlotte’s family home in Cambridge, that was pretty much out of my head, although I did visit Cambridge to explore all the locations in the story. But the main setting – the grand house where her aunt lives – was based on a stately home we once stayed in that had been turned into a health spa. The gardens really were as described in the books, and absolutely stunning – the perfect place for secret trysts with your vampire lover! The only bit I made up was the “secret tunnel” leading to the derelict medieval manor house. And that manor was based on a real one, too. I’d like to add that I chose the 1920s as a setting because it was a period when the Edwardian age was turning into the modern world, and you’ve got this lovely blend of old-fashioned values and modernity, with jazz and glamour and spooky silent movies and scientific advances. It was a time of great social change, overshadowed by the First World War, which mirrors Charlotte’s journey from being a
in the original. Dracula the Undead won the Dracula Society Award for Best Gothic Novel in 1997 – although one reader described it as, “the worst vampire novel I’ve ever read.” Oh well, you can’t please everyone! I respected the original and did my best.
sex and family secrets in there, too, not just horror! When I wrote it in the early 1990s, it was long before such themes were done to death, so to speak.
You’ve also written a horror novel, Dark Cathedral. What draws you to horror, and why do you think darker themes are so appealing to readers?
I have at least five ideas floating around my head. I’ve made a start on a new fantasy novel, and I’ve written three short stories this year – all horror, coincidentally. I’ve started making my out-of-print titles available on Kindle. I’m also thinking about a psychological thriller/ghost project, and I would certainly love to write another novel in the Blood Wine series, and put together a short story collection. All I need is the time and energy to do everything!
I like psychological rather than visceral horror. A good old scare is thrilling, but feeling disgusted is just gross, in my opinion. That said, Dark Cathedral did have some fairly gory scenes! It was a tale about a conflict between Christianity and Paganism, both in the present and the past, so it was a fairly dark journey into some issues of witch-persecution and religious mania. I enjoyed writing that book – there’s a lot of philosophy, romance,
What are you working on next?
For more information about Freda Warrington and her books, visit fredawarrington.com
Review: Asking For It
Words: Joanna Shaw
Emma is a popular girl growing up in rural Ireland; she works hard in school and boys find her attractive. However, the morning after a party, Emma can’t understand why she aches all over, why she is bruised and why her friends won’t talk to her, until she turns on her computer and her life changes forever. Asking For It is the second book from Irish author Louise O’ Neill. Her writing style is described by many highprofile authors as gritty and honest and I couldn’t agree more with this description. After thoroughly enjoying O’ Neill’s first novel Only Ever Yours, I wasn’t surprised by how violent and dark Asking for It is. The book discusses the harsh topic of victim-blaming in rape cases and the cruel, unforgiving side of social media. Emma’s story is repeated throughout the local and national news, talked about on panel shows and even commented upon by the local priest. This book refuses to let you disconnect
literary drama from reality, as in Ireland only one in ten rape cases is reported to the police. Of the tiny percentage that are reported only 7% end up in a secure conviction. O’Neill writes so brutally and so honestly that it makes you fully acknowledge that rape and abuse cases need more attention, not just in Ireland, but throughout the world. One part of the book I found truly disturbing was the treatment and representation of women by men. The boys at school are constantly commenting on the ‘unattractive’ girls and the girls who sleep around, observing how they don’t all look like the models on the TV. It is an unfortunate reflection upon reality how women are encouraged to judge themselves and each other. This book is so prominent that it should be used at A-level and given to students who are studying law, social science and even gender studies. Rating: 5/5
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