A Mad, Wicked Folly Blog Tour - Author Interview

Today I have the pleasure of participating in Penguin Canada's blog tour for Sharon Biggs Waller's debut novel A Mad, Wicked Folly. Sharon has been kind enough to answer some questions on behalf of Will Fletcher, one of the characters (and love interests!) in the story. To find out more about him and his story, just keep reading.

What is it like being a police constable in London in 1909?

The suffrage movement took up a lot of police time. 1909 (and the years of suffrage movement in general) was a strange and confusing time for a lot of constables because they weren't used to dealing with the arrest of women. Most women they encountered were members of the working class, namely prostitutes. When the suffragettes came along, constables found themselves dealing with women who were often socially superior and who wouldn't go quietly. The constables were instructed to "act with firmness as well as tact." But sometimes constables were forced to handle them roughly anyway. Many police officers hated treating women in this way, but others relished it. The suffragettes had an odd relationship with the police. They needed them for protection from hostile crowds, but the police were also enforcing rules that suffragists found unfair.

What is is about the Suffragettes movement that made Will want to help them, even though all other police constables seem to be against it all?

William Fletcher is a young man who believes in fairness and in helping people. He feels he's tasked to keep the peace, but he doesn't agree with preventing people from fighting for their rights. When Will became a police constable he promised to protect victims, not create them. In addition, as he tells Vicky, he doesn't see the point in denying half the population the right to vote.

How has Will's job as a police constable helped him write his story?

As a police constable Will sees the suffering of people up close, and so he knows the destructive nature of poverty and how class can hold people in poverty. He's also seen how destructive inequality can be. His beat lies in the wealthiest parts of town, but he lives in a poorer one. Most people in Edwardian England remained in their own area and didn't usually frequent places where other classes lived. But Will moves through all faces of London every day, both in his work life and his personal life. He's able to see and experience life from many angles, and that helps him create believable characters.

What did Will think when he first made Victoria Darling's acquaintance?

I love this question! I thought about it a lot because when Will first sees Vicky, he looks at her like he knows her. I think we all feel this way when we first meet people we have a natural connection with. We get this feeling of, "oh, there you are!" I imagined Will saw the intensity on Vicky's face when she was drawing and recognized that in himself. Here was this potential dangerous situation and Vicky wasn't backing down. Rather, she was frantically trying to capture the scene, like any fervent artist or writer would. (Of course, Will thought she was beautiful, too!) When he heard Vicky denying she was a suffragette, he was intensely disappointed because he had this idea about her, and now he was wrong, and that caused him to act like a rotter. Will hates a coward.

What was it like working and collaborating with Victoria? The two seem to have quite an unusual relationship.

Both Vicky and Will support each other's talents wholeheartedly, and so they both feel encouraged and accepted when working together. You are right that this is unusual because they are both of different classes, but art and literature has a way of transcending class and gender, so if you look at their relationship from this angle it makes perfect sense. Of course, that comes back to bite Will on the bum. He forgets they are from two different worlds and starts to see her as something other than a collaborator.

What does Will hope for in the future?

He hopes that Vicky will be happy to keep collaborating with him and that they will be able to earn money from their work. As far as life with Vicky goes, Will is going to keep that one to himself. :)

Thank you Sharon for being kind enough to answer these questions on behalf of Will. It was great getting to know more about him. If you are interested in seeing what I thought of A Mad, Wicked Folly, be sure to check out my review.

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

Title: A Mad, Wicked Folly

Author: Sharon Biggs Waller

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Release Date: January 23, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darlin, who wants only to be an artist--a nearly impossible dream for a girl.

After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse--or may be the love of her life As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

After having recently discovered the awesomeness that is Downton Abbey, I was told that Sharon Biggs Waller's A Mad, Wicked Folly was like if Sybil had gotten her own book. And that's how I was sold on the book. Once I started reading, I pretty much devoured A Mad, Wicked Folly.

All Victoria Darling really wants to do is draw. Away at finishing school in France, Vicky has found ways to sneak out and join an atelier so she can further her art. But when a classmate discovers that she has posed nude for her class, Vicky is sent back to London where her parents take away all her art supplies. But Vicky won't let that stop her. Determined to find a way to get into the Royal College of Art, Vicky agrees to marry Edmund Carrick-Humphrey, the boy her parents have chosen for her. But while out drawing a suffragette protest, Vicky meets Will Fletcher, a young police constable who seems sympathetic to the women's movement. The more her path crosses Will's, the more Vicky finds herself attracted to him. But being with a working-class boy goes against everything that's expected of Vicky. Is she willing to sacrifice it all and follow her heart?

When I was told that this book was comparable to Downton Abbey, if it were all about Sybil, I just knew I had to read Sharon Biggs Waller's A Mad, Wicked Folly. Reading the synopsis and finding out more about the story only reinforced that desire. Once I started reading, it didn't take long for me to know that I would love this story. And I did. I found myself getting sucked in to 1909 London, following the Suffragette Movement, and watching people start to break away from the class system. Sharon Biggs Waller really did her research. A Mad, Wicked Folly felt authentic and real, and I loved the way she presented it all. Seeing the changes happening in London society through Vicky's eyes added to that authenticity. In a way, the changes in society were mirrored in the ways Vicky was changing herself. It was interesting to then see the two sets of changes side by side. But if I'm being completely honest, what I loved most was seeing Vicky and Will's relationship grow and develop. And believe me when I stay that I was totally rooting for them.

Victoria Darling wasn't exactly a typical seventeen-year-old girl, especially no in 1909 London society. But that's what made her such an interesting character to read about. Vicky wasn't afraid to break out of the mold. She could typically be found doing the opposite of what was expected of her, and she thought for herself, something not many girls her age did at this time. But as rebellious as Vicky could be, she still struggled with the idea of leaving her comfortable life behind, and this struggle could be seen in her feelings towards Will. Will was a police constable, a working-class boy who hopes to one day be a writer. He's not the kind of boy Vicky should be spending time with and she knows that, but she can't seem to fight her attraction to him. And I loved seeing that relationship develop, and even if they shouldn't have been spending time together, you could tell they just really worked together. And I was TOTALLY rooting for them.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, you won't want to miss out on Sharon Biggs Waller's A Mad, Wicked Folly. This was a story I absolutely loved and it showed in just how quickly I raced through it. If I'm being honest, I would reread it in a heartbeat.