1. Could you describe The Confectioner’s Tale in less than 10 words?
Love, secrets, guilt and forgiveness centred in Belle Epoque Paris.
2. What inspired you to write The Confectioner’s Tale?
I originally had the idea when I was on a road-trip around France. In St-Emilion I came across canelés – little French custard pastries – and discovered that they had a fascinating, three-hundred-year history of artisan rivalry. My interest in patisserie as a craft started there. Petra's story came soon after and is definitely a case of "write what you know" (I studied English Literature at Cambridge).
3. Before writing the book, how did you research for the story?
Hmm, it seems so long ago now... I spent a lot of time on Gallica, the amazing online digital archive of the Bibliothèque nationale. They have millions of documents available to study for free, including a photographic archive and scanned originals of nineteenth century recipe books. Freedom of knowledge; it's how the internet should be.
4. What can readers expect from The Confectioner’s Tale?
Expect evocative, sensuous descriptions of the kitchen of a famous patisserie at the height of the Belle Epoque! But also of Paris more generally, including its underworld and its poverty. Couple that with a fast-faced, interwoven time-slip narrative... Quite a few people have also told me that reading it made them hungry, so probably best to make sure you have some cake handy.
5. Quickfire Round!
- Coffee or tea?
Coffee! Black, no sugar please.
- Favourite weather?
The very start of autumn; crisp and bright.
- Ideal holiday read?
Anything and everything! I once read Touching the Void on the beach...
- Favourite comfort food?
Warm bread and butter
- Favourite dessert?
Not fair! Anything with raspberries, pistachios and vanilla. Fruit-based over chocolate any day. Though I do love a good tiramisu.
- Most memorable holiday?
I can't pick one, so I'll pick moments: a summertime trip to the Scilly Isles, swimming at twilight in Cyprus, circumnavigating France in a van, sleeping around a camp fire in the middle of the Australian outback, eating ricotta with truffle honey in Rome, watching the swallows over a tiny lake in Wales at sunset, visiting crumbling Art Deco hotels on the border of France and Spain...
- Most prized possession?
I'm not sure I really believe in possessions that way, but I certainly love my 1930s L.C. Smith & Corona typewriter. It was a gift from my partner, and it's a beautiful thing; I use it to write letters, sometimes. If you look carefully, you'll even find it has a cameo in The Confectioner's Tale...
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