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To be a little different from the usual
'meet the author'
'meet the author'
let's meet a
character...
Archbishop Dunstan
from
character...
Q: Hello,
I’m Helen, host of Novel Conversations,
please do make yourself comfortable. Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, wine
– something stronger? You’ll find a box of chocolates and a bowl of fruit on
the table next to you, please do help yourself. I believe you are a character
in Annie Whitehead’s novel Alvar the Kingmaker. Would you like to introduce yourself? Are you a lead
character or a supporting role?
A:
Good Day, Lady. My name is Dunstan, erstwhile abbot and now archbishop of
Canterbury. I do not know of these ‘chocolates’, and I recognise nothing except
the apples in your ‘fruit’ bowl, but a cup of wine would be most welcome. You
look surprised. Well, we clerics are not abstemious in all things. You would
think, wouldn’t you, that my rise from lowly abbot to archbishop would warrant
a lead role in this book, but no, I am not even the main enemy of the lead
character. I do, however, have the rightful honour of being first to appear in
the book, when I find the newly-crowned king romping in bed on his coronation
day, with his wife and (shudders) her mother…
Q: What genre is the novel and what is it about?
A:
The genre is historical fiction and it is set in tenth-century England. Rest
assured it is not all so salacious. It is based on real characters and is the
story of Alvar, Earl of Mercia, who became right-hand man to the louche king’s
brother and successor. Alvar and I fight constantly, as we each try to advise
King Edgar to move along the right path. My task is to restore the monasteries
which in my view have become corrupt and amoral. His, to lead the country as
its pre-eminent earl, and he has some heart-breaking personal choices to make
along the way.
 |
| Edgar and Dunstan, Bath Abbey |
Q:
No spoilers, but are you a ‘goodie’ or a ‘baddie’? (Or maybe you are both?)
A:
I have always sought to serve God. Some
might say that sometimes I went the wrong way about it, and closed my eyes to evil
deeds when I should have spoken out. I will admit to the sins of pride and
envy. A good deal of the latter, actually.
Q:
Tell me about another character in the
novel – maybe your best friend … or maybe your arch enemy!
A:
My enemy is the ‘hero’ of the story:
Alvar. Mercurial, although loyal to a fault. Coarse, energetic, but also,
though I hate to say it, a brilliant soldier and counsellor, damn his eyes. The
queen fell in love with him and that I couldn’t stomach, she being no more than
a Jezebel. (Leans forward). You see, she hated us churchmen for what we did to
her, and Alvar swore revenge, but we had to do it, to preserve our reforms. You
look like an intelligent lady; you know that naught is more important than
God’s work? Means to an end, and all that?
(HH nods understanding)
Q:
Is this the only novel you have appeared in, or are there others in a series?
A:
My fame is such that others have
written about me, but no, this book is what I believe is known as a standalone.
Q:
What is one of your least favourite scenes you appear in?
A: Early on in the book, the king banishes me. I did
not enjoy being humiliated in front of everyone. But my exile gave me a chance
to plot my revenge… I mean, reassess the situation.
Q:
And your favourite scene?
A: Any of the scenes where I thwart Alvar? But in
truth, the scene where he and I have to work to rescue people trapped in a
collapsed building is a favourite, because valuable lessons are learned, and
not just by me.
Q: Tell me a little about your author. Has she written any
other books?
A: She has written two other novels set in Anglo-Saxon
Mercia. The first, To Be A Queen, is the story of Æthelflæd,
Lady of the Mercians, daughter of Alfred the Great and the first woman to rule
an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. The other is Cometh the Hour, the story of the
first, great, king of Mercia: Penda. His kin is mistreated, his kingdom is
under threat from without and within, and he’s a pagan in a time when all
around him are converting to Christianity. He has to adapt, he has to govern,
oh, and he needs to take revenge on the northern kings…
All
her novels have won awards. She has also written two nonfiction books. Mercia:
The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom was published by Amberley in 2018, and Women
of Power in Anglo-Saxon England will be published by Pen & Sword in May
2020.
Q:
Is your author working on anything else at the moment?
A: She is working on a collection of short stories and
plotting the sequel to Cometh the Hour. She also has plans for a couple
of novellas and is beginning to think that sleep is an unnecessary indulgence.
Perhaps I should introduce her to the monastic life?
Q:
How do you think authors can be helped or supported by readers or groups? What
does your author think is the most useful for her personally?
A: Connecting. She likes to stay active on a thing she
calls Social Media, because she likes to connect with readers and other authors.
Reviews are vital, but so is word of mouth. Readers’ groups can really help
with both. And as an avid reader herself, she likes to get lots of
recommendations for her own reading!
Thank
you, Lord Dunstan, it was a pleasure talking to you. Would your author like to
add a short excerpt? Meanwhile, chatting is thirsty work, would you
like a refill of that wine…? I’ll have another Gin and Tonic . . .
Salute! Here’s to writing a best seller!
Thank
you, Lady Helen, it was a pleasure to grant you an audience. I do not know of
‘gin’, but I’ll gladly have another wine.
CONNECT WITH ANNIE
Website: anniewhiteheadauthor.co.uk
Amazon author
page: http://viewauthor.at/Annie-Whitehead
**And
all her novels are 99p/99c until 12th Jan 2020!!**
Link for
Alvar: http://mybook.to/AlvartheKingmaker
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnieWHistory
EXCERPT
[The widowed queen and her ally, Alvar, have been
outmanoeuvred by the scheming Churchmen, who think that they have won the
battle, if not the war, by crowning their candidate for the disputed kingship.
Dunstan, attempting magnanimity, holds out his hand to the furious earl,
thinking that he has bested him.]
But Alvar stood back, folded his arms, and stared at
him, saying nothing. In the silence that followed, Dunstan withdrew his
proffered hand and looked across at Oswald, who shook his head and shrugged.
Still Alvar remained silent and they began to
fidget; Dunstan fiddling with his sleeve-ends and Oswald with his fingernails.
Alvar spoke at last. “Now what?”
Dunstan struggled to keep his smile from wavering.
“M-my lord?”
“Now what will be done?”
The archbishop folded his hands in front of his
gown. He had seen a challenge where there was none. Alvar’s question was
surprising in its simplicity, but he was happy to explain. “N-now you will
swear hold-oath to King Edward, and our lives will g-go on much as before.” And then it does not matter if you wed
Edgar’s widow. For, having sworn to Edward, you cannot then fight on her son’s
behalf. I have won, Earl.
“No.”
This time the smile slid away and Dunstan felt his
heart hammering. “My lord?”
Alvar stepped closer, looked him in the eye, and
spoke in tones barely above a whisper. “That youth is not born of both a king
and a queen, and he is a snivelling shit to boot. I will not swear to him. So I
shall tell you what is to be done now. Now you will feel the might of Mercia,
and you will learn what a strong and worthy king could stop, that a child-king
cannot.”
He turned round and pulled the door shut behind him,
and the only sound was the echo of the door-slam.
Dunstan stared at the space that Alvar had occupied
but a moment before.
He said, “Archbishop Oswald, I am left with the feeling
that we might have overreached ourselves.
< PREVIOUS GUEST NEXT GUEST >
Helen - on behalf of the archbishop, I'd like to thank you for organising this interview. He thinks you should probably feel honoured to have been in his company, but I'd suggest it's rather the other way round!
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I've had several characters in the forthcoming scheduled Conversations who think the same thing!
DeleteLoved it? Of course I did! Dunstan, as portrayed by Annie, is just as I imagined him!
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard - he certainly has a sense of his own importance!!
DeleteI get a sense of unholy danger emanating from that holy cleric. Will Alvar recognize it in time? Great interview, despite my apprehensions about the outcome.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Inge - Alvar has possibly known it all along, and Oswald is even worse than Dunstan, so the two together are quite a match. Alvar is a force to be reckoned with, but he's not devious, so it takes him a while to work out what they're up to. And when he does, well.....!
DeleteReally enjoyed the interview. Great character!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Joanne - I must admit to having a bit of a soft spot for him, despite it all!
DeleteThe novel was a terrific read, and I was more than a little in love with Alvar myself. Helen, I know there's no risk of these bossy, self-opinionated characters besting you but even so you need to watch out for the 'holier than thou' brigade.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much - it's lovely to know that Alvar 'got' to you and I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the book! :-)
DeleteHa! Plot my revenge = reassess the situation. That made me laugh. I like it, when someone as powerful as Dunstan can admit to his faults. Makes it more probable that he has survived the fires of purgatory to enjoy the rolling green meadows of heaven. I wonder if he'll be disappointed when he encounters Alvar there?
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating character. I agree with Anna about plot my revenge = reassess the situation! Promises some interesting developments...
ReplyDelete