In the latest of our books series HENRIETTA MCKERVEY tells SOPHIE GRENHAM about the renewal of Dublin 8, giving voice to women of the THE EASTER RISING and the literature that CONTINUES TO INSPIRE HER …
“She has wit, imagination, and an understanding of human beings, the hallmark of the true novelist,” wrote Éilís Ní Dhuibhne in her review of Henrietta McKervey’s new novel The Heart of Everything (Hachette). Frank McGuinness called it “a wonderful, memorable book – a tour-de-force.”
With such praise from two pillars of the Irish literary community, it’s probably safe to say that Henrietta has arrived.
As 1916 centenary celebrations approach, Henrietta’s debut What Becomes of Us (Hachette, 2015) is all the more poignant. Set fifty years after the Rising, when women still fought to be heard, this story has captivated readers and critics alike.
In 2014 Henrietta picked up the Maeve Binchy Travel Award and last year won the Hennessy First Fiction Prize for short story The Dead of Winter. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from UCD.
When Henrietta isn’t dreaming up fiction, she works as a design and advertising copywriter. She lives in Dublin.
On home
I live in Dublin 8, an area called the Tenters, which roughly sits between Cork Street and the South Circular Road. It was built as the first local authority estate of the Free State government and the houses have an unusual metal frame construction. I’ve been in Dublin 8 since 2001; first in Lauderdale Terrace near Patrick Street, which is a terrace of older, Victorian houses that were once part of the Earl of Meath’s estate. We moved to this part of the Tenters last year. I love being near the city centre yet still in a place that feels like a community. The clutch of new cafes and restaurants are as good an illustration as any as to how the area has developed over the last few years. The biggest change is the continuing transformation of Newmarket Square. In a decade it has gone from very dingy to very trendy, the most recent arrivals being Teelings Distillery and the Green Door market. It’s a big square, but some Sundays it’s so busy there isn’t room to swing a hipster’s beard.
On creating
I have a small study off the hallway just inside the front door. It’s like a big cloakroom gone posh. It looks out over the street, which can be very distracting. One wall is shelved and the only furniture is a chair, desk and – because it didn’t fit anywhere else in the house – a coat stand. Behind my desk I have a framed print of the Distillers Press poster advertising the ‘Making 1916: Material Culture and the Rising’ conference in 2013. It’s a ‘souvenir’ I bought myself because What Becomes of Us was set at the fiftieth anniversary of the Rising and I went to that conference when I was researching the book. There is a primary school close by and when I hear the clamour of kids going out into the yard I know it’s time for lunch.
On bookshops
The Gutter in Temple Bar – well, both Gutters, I’ve visited the one in Dalkey a couple of times too – is a favourite. Both my books were launched there. Before I’d ever been in there as a writer I was in as a reader, and Bob was always very generous with his time and knowledge when I was looking for recommendations for stuff to read. Dubray in the Swan Centre in Rathmines is a favourite too: again, the staff are lovely and I like that the children’s section is designed so kids to hang out and enjoy looking at books. I once had a summer job in an antique book shop called Titles in Oxford. I can still remember the smell of the place: untroubled dust and old paper. Gorgeous.
On literature
It’s hard to pick some over others because there are books I adored for the story itself and others for the underlying themes the story was exploring. As a child, one book that did both was A Question of Courage by Marjorie Darke. It’s a suffragette-awakening story of friendship, bravery and comradeship and it had a big impact on me. Later on I came to love PG Wodehouse for his kindness and Evelyn Waugh for the wringers he puts his readers through – A Handful of Dust is merciless the way it plays with the reader. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen is one of her less loved books but my favourite because it explores the idea of what writing is as well as being a very funny parody of gothic storytelling. Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum and Lorrie Moore’s Anagrams were both key reads for me: stunning novels, both perfectly choreographed.
On escapes
My cousin and I are good friends and I love to visit her tiny village near Sidmouth in Devon. Sidmouth is a small beach town with lovely Georgian and Regency terraces; imagine Brighton if it retired and went to live somewhere quiet and you’ll get an idea of Sidmouth. Though I like sea swimming, to be honest I’m not very good at holidays. I relax by listening to The Archers on Radio 4, and you can do that anywhere!
On celebrating 1916
Because I was researching 1916 since 2012 I feel a bit wrung out by now to be honest. Last year I took part in RTE’s Road to the Rising event, and it was fascinating to see how the day-to-day life of a century ago could get a fresh airing in the city. The events I’m most interested in are the history with a small ‘h’ ones, such as the recent seminar about sources for the Rising in Dublin City Library & Archive. It featured Elsie McDermid’s eyewitness account of Easter Week in a letter to her mother, and the painstaking restoration of Elizabeth O’Farrell’s (very battered) original copy of the Proclamation. Tiny details are what interest me: they let the light in.
What Becomes of Us (€19.50) and The Heart of Everything (€17.99) are available now from all good bookshops.
Sophie Grenham
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