The common perception that a children's 'classic' novel is somehow a 'nicer' story is far from the truth. Likewise, 'fairy tales' are more often about instead violent murders, monsters and mayhem than fairies. Exploring the myths and truths of classic stories was the theme for this year's Writers' Day in Edinburgh. The editor / author partnership was also discussed by Charlie Sheppard, Editorial Director of Random House, and author Keith Gray.
Alison Prince was the hugely enjoyable keynote speaker. She described herself as a secret junkie of Hans Christian Andersen's tales as a child, how moments such as a daisy dying touched her so deeply that she felt privileged to know about it. As an adult - and an author - she decided to investigate what lay behind the haunting loneliness and powerful emotional realities that distinguish his stories. As she describes in her fascinating book, 'Hans Christian Andersen: The Fan Dancer', through her research she discovered that he was gay and, raised by a poor but loving maid, possibly the secret result of a Royal affair with nobility. Then, it was illegal to be gay in Denmark; he was a victim of the prejudices of the time and fiercely suppressed himself. The man he secretly loved throughout his entire life married a woman and had a family. This unattainable love, consequential angst and loneliness, the sense of being an outsider, consciously or unconsciously drove his stories as he sought to express his lifelong pain. The result was an ability to write stories that communicate so strongly about what matters most in life, that they are still touching lives; they are true classics.
She expanded on this theme with many anecdotes about his stories and life. For example, on meeting Hans Christian Andersen in Rome, the Brownings observed that he looked like the ugly duck but had the mind of a swan.
Keith wrote his book, 'The Fearful', over five years. During this time, pets died and girlfriends left - the one constant was his editor, Charlie Sheppard. As they both talked, it seemed as though Keith and Charlie have forged the best kind of author-editor relationship, one marked by support, mutual respect and stability.
Some authors send their work in sections to their editors; Keith tends to write a complete first draft before sending it to Charlie. After she has read it several times, they meet and discuss wherever the novel stops feeling real, wherever Charlie senses there are problems. On average, Keith rewrites the novel five times; Charlie reads and comments upon every draft. While Keith isn't obliged to respond to every comment, he said that her ideas have a clear and important effect upon him. The support continues after publication and they might chat on the phone following a rocky review.
She described the editor-author relationship as a dialogue, a kind of duet. It's about two people wanting to make the book the very best it can be. She finds it an exciting honour to be let into an author's mind. She feels she has to earn an author's respect and trust.
All of her relationships with authors are different. Yet they can all be described with the metaphor of a family. To her, a book is the child, the author the parent, the editor the (good not wicked) step-parent. Sometimes the parent is blind to the child's faults and how they are handling the situation can make it worse. This is when the more objective step-parent can help. It makes the step-parent unpopular sometimes but when the situation is resolved, everyone's happy.
Charlie summarised what to expect from your editor:
Each of the panel listed their favourite stories (shown in brackets), followed by a discussion about the nature of stories that become classics. The panel was chaired by agent Lindsey Fraser (Flat Stanley, The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird).
Alison Prince (Favourite classics: Kipling's 'Just so' series, Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are)
Julie Bertagna (Heidi, Little women, Alan Garner's novels)
Keith Gray ( The machine gunners, Catch 22, 1984)
Vivian French (Heidi, The Flower Fairies, The Princess Bride, Andersen's fairy tales)
Charlie Sheppard (Little Women, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
As guest author Julie Bertagna pointed out, most children are shocked when they hear the plot of Jane Eyre. When it was first published, it was seen as so subversive, churches campaigned to have it pulped. In the Water Babies, children are sent up chimneys. In The Secret Garden, adults are exceptionally cruel. Huckleberry Finn exposes the evil of racism. In The Railway Children, the father is in prison and the family is almost destitute. All these 'nice' stories are actually very gritty at their core.
Charlie pointed out that a classic has a narrative voice so true and real that it resonates into the future; it has staying power. Alison shared how, for her, a classic puts its finger on the real depth of human feeling and has the hypnotic quality of a dream. Vivian said that if it wasn't for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales of hideous things, swamps and monsters, she probably wouldn't have written a thing!
Amidst all the profound and inspiring comments was one particularly amusing revelation that serves as a reminder about how differently children think and feel. Keith Gray explained how as a child he used to believe that if you were still for long enough, you'd die. This was perfectly logical because dead people are very, very still. And because reading involves sitting still, he thought it would kill him. Classics were even worse; they were stories by people who were already dead. So virtually managed to avoid reading a book until he was 12!
The day ended with the opportunity to explore The Greatest Fairy Tale - an exhibition of Hans Christian Andersen.
Lizzie MacWhirter