Ask the Author: Sharon Bradshaw
Answered Questions (3)
Sharon Bradshaw
I recently came across a receipt confirming that my Grandmother had paid a deposit on a small plot of land in Buckinghamshire. For some reason the purchase didn't go ahead, and all I can remember is that my family were disappointed by this. When I must only have been two or three years old. There certainly wouldn't have been a sinister reason for the move in my Grandmother's case, but for a character in one of my books or stories it would be a different matter! Involving something which had happened years ago, and the repercussions still being felt in the present day. Why did she want to move there? I guess I will never know, but a story may still come from the receipt she carefully kept in that box of old papers.
Sharon Bradshaw
Thank you, Cathy. I have been interested in the early medieval period for many years, so have read a lot about it. I am fascinated by archaeology; artifacts and ancient places. There are still gaps in our knowledge of what sometimes truly happened, but it's always exciting when new discoveries are made. It's been a privilege too as an author to imagine how the gaps in history might have been filled.
I have read the surviving poetry and almost contemporaneous accounts of Bede; Adomnan's life of St Columba; the earlier Benedictine Rules and more...
I tried to stay true to fact, but some of it is our interpretation of archaeological finds, and I was always conscious of writing a story. I imagined how the changes taking place in society and politically in 794 AD might have affected the lives of ordinary people.
This led me onto reading some of Philip Newell's work about the Celtic Church; Bible passages I remembered from childhood, and modern books on Druidism. All of which came together then, as Durstan and Ailan's story, in The Monk who Cast a Spell.
I have read the surviving poetry and almost contemporaneous accounts of Bede; Adomnan's life of St Columba; the earlier Benedictine Rules and more...
I tried to stay true to fact, but some of it is our interpretation of archaeological finds, and I was always conscious of writing a story. I imagined how the changes taking place in society and politically in 794 AD might have affected the lives of ordinary people.
This led me onto reading some of Philip Newell's work about the Celtic Church; Bible passages I remembered from childhood, and modern books on Druidism. All of which came together then, as Durstan and Ailan's story, in The Monk who Cast a Spell.
Sharon Bradshaw
Hi, Alison. It's a great question, thank you. As a child I loved reading history books. I have a Medieval History A level. I continued to be drawn to this period throughout my career as a lawyer, and it was a natural progression to write about it once I was able to. I love the beautiful manuscripts, art, poetry and craftsmanship of the artifacts we have found. Similarly, reading about the archaeology, the social and political setting of the time, and how our perception of the early medieval period has changed over the years. It's a fascinating time! I also couldn't see that a man and woman's feelings about love would have changed a great deal across the centuries, and this becomes Durstan and Ailan's story in The Monk who Cast a Spell.
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