A Capital Union is set in Edinburgh in the Second World War.
Ayrshire lass Agnes Thorne, just seventeen and newly wed, is increasingly drawn
into the Scottish independence movement because of her husband’s refusal to
sign up for the British Army. Agnes thinks Jeff should stop worrying about
Westminster and get on with fighting Hitler, and so do their disapproving
neighbours.
It has been described by author Alan Warner as being:
A remarkable debut, with explosive
moments of real poetry and narrative power. This is an excellent novel, very
dramatic and engaging, with a Buchan thrills quality.
Victoria,
congratulations on the publication of A
Capital Union. It’s a rare novel, I think, that combines a page-turning
read and moments of black humour with some really beautiful writing and that’s
you have here.
You’ve said that the inspiration for the
novel came from hearing about your great-uncle being a conscientious objector
in the last war, because of his allegiance to the Scottish National Party. From
that piece of information how did you go about researching the background to
the novel?
I was curious
about my great-uncle David’s story. The family knew that he was a pacifist but
they didn’t know that he had been in charge of publicity for the SNP during the
Second World War. In looking for information about him, I came across the
archive of Douglas Young in the National Library in Edinburgh. Young was
prepared to challenge Westminster’s right to impose conscription in Scotland
and was jailed for this. His case was built around the terms of the Treaty of
Union in 1707, but was rejected by the judges in the High Court in Edinburgh.
This became the basis of my story, although all the characters in it are
fictional.
You got your inspiration and then the
backdrop to the novel, but this is Agnes’ story. How did you come up with her?
Is she like anyone you know? Is she like you?
I wanted to tell
the story from a female perspective. Women’s voices are more difficult to find
in history, so I imagined what it would be like to be married to a political
activist at a time of national crisis. I also explored what experience is
uniquely female in war. Agnes is not based on me. She reminds me of lots of
great Scottish women I know, especially her humour.
I like that Agnes was so resourceful and
that her upbringing on a farm was of use to her during rationing. Did people
really lay rabbit snares on Blackford Hill?
Not that I know
of, but an uncle who grew up in Perthshire laid snares for rabbits from the age
of six. He would gut them and would take them home for the family to eat.
You’ve managed to give a flavour of Scots
dialect without making the dialogue inaccessible. Was that difficult to do?
I used the words
I remember my Grannie using; words I love and still use today. It is very rare
for people to speak pure Scots now, and the pattern of sprinkling Scots words
into English is typical of people’s speech. The novel also explores the journey
to build a Scottish National Dictionary and get Scottish literature onto the
university curriculum.
The novel is obviously very topical with
the independence referendum coming up next year. What do you think A Capital Union adds to the debate?
I hope it might
add a historical perspective as it is based on the experience of party members
in 1942 when the party divided over the issue of conscription,
amongst other things. John MacCormick left to form the Scottish Convention when
Douglas Young was elected Chairman in 1942.
Anyone, whether they know Edinburgh or
not, will love your descriptions of it. Did you walk around pretending it was
1942 and seeing the city through new eyes?
I have a
wonderful book of photographs called The Forth at War William F. Hendrie (Birlinn Ltd). It is amazing how
little Edinburgh has changed. Its incredible geography and monuments dictate so
much of its structure. It was interesting to look back at copies of the Scotsman newspaper in the 1940s and see
pictures with the Forth Rail Bridge blacked out for security.
How many drafts of the novel did you
write?
I wrote about
two drafts, but it was more a case of adding in scenes and information rather
than taking bits out. I kept discovering new things I wanted to include for
example about the use of hay boxes as slow cookers when fuel was in short
supply.
What are you writing now, may I ask?
I am working on
another novel set in Edinburgh in 2013 which looks at modern relationships.
I hope we don’t have to wait too long for
that one. Thank you for answering my questions.
A Capital Union:
Chapter 1
My mother said I
was like jam in a bad year, sweet but with too many pips, and when I asked her
what she meant, she said that some of the things I said got stuck in people’s
teeth and worried them. I didn’t think that was a kind thing to say, so when
Jeff asked me to marry him I said yes. Once I was a fine Edinburgh lady I
wouldn’t need to think about the things Mother said, or chickens and sheep and
muck. After the wedding when she saw the size of our braw flat in Morningside, she
said there was no limit to the doors a bonny face would open. I didn’t expect
to miss her when she left for the farm, but I did. I was seventeen and it was
1942.
NOW READ ON…
A Capital Union is published by Saraband in paperback and
on Kindle; it is also available as an audio book.
Find Victoria at https://www.facebook.com/victoria.hendry.3
Victoria is
giving two talks as part of the Book Week Scotland 2013 programme: in Longniddry on 25 November at
7.30, and at the MacRobert Arts Centre, Stirling on 28 November at 6pm.
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