by Katherine Mezzacappa
‘I am dead, my Mary; the man who loved you body and soul lies in some dishonorable grave.’ In County Down, Ireland, in 1767, a nobleman secretly marries his servant, in defiance of law, class, and religion. Can their love survive tumultuous times?
‘Honest and intriguing, this gripping saga will transport and inspire you, and it just might break your heart. Highly recommended.’ Historical Novel Society
'Mezzacappa brings nuance and a great depth of historical knowledge to the cross-class romance between a servant and a nobleman.' Publishers Weekly.
The Ballad of Mary Kearney is a compelling must-read for anyone interested in Irish history, told through the means of an enduring but ultimately tragic love.
Writing Interview questions.
Why did you choose to write your book in this era?
I am from Belfast but left during the Troubles, after my first year in secondary school. I’d learned something about the United Irishmen and the 1798 Rebellion in primary school and had been astonished, given what was happening at the time where I was living, that this had been a movement of Protestants and Catholics (and was in fact led mainly by Protestant intelligentsia). The rebellion was crushed without mercy; to me, though I wasn’t very old at the time, it felt as though what had been destroyed was the last chance for real peace.
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| Kilwaughter Castle, Co. Antrim, partial inspiration for Goward Hall Kenneth Allen, Wikimedia Commons |
Did you find researching this era particularly difficult? What was the hardest thing to find out, and did you come across anything particularly surprising?
Trying to establish the exact extent of the Penal Laws in force at the time and when they were repealed took a bit of work. They were very extensive and to a significant degree applied to Presbyterians too, which isn’t as well known. Amongst other restrictions, they made marriages between Catholics and Protestants illegal (which is at the heart of the plot), barred Catholics from most of the professions, forced Catholics who owned land to leave it equally between their sons (thus breaking up estates) and even prescribed the value of the horses they could ride. Even after the disappearance of the Penal Laws from the legislation, some effects of them remained, as in the allocation of housing – which led to the Civil Rights marches of the late 1960s – and things like the requirement for a reference from a Protestant clergyman if you wanted to be a teacher in a state primary school in Northern Ireland.
Can you share something about the book that isn’t covered in the blurb?
A number of real people crept into the book, amongst the supporting cast. I don’t mean historical figures, though they are there too. I mean people I knew. I didn’t set out to do that, but I think it’s because they quite literally had the right voices for the roles they took. I could hear them speaking.
If you had to describe your protagonist(s), in three words, what would those three words be and why?
Her: trusting, loving and resilient. Him: impetuous, principled, naïve. She is an innocent, married clandestinely at 17 to a man outside her class. She has to pretend she is his mistress. She is also the object of another man’s obsession, with catastrophic results. He gets enthusiasms about things (as a rich man he can) but he’s motivated by fairness and a sense of justice.
What was the most challenging part about writing your book?
If we don’t count the book I wrote on my Masters in Creative Writing course (which needs to stay in the drawer) and a short romance, this is the first full-length novel I wrote, back in 2016 (the first draft). Five full-length novels, three short ones and twenty short stories have been published in the meantime. So what was challenging was believing I could do it, though I had in the background a dear friend and fellow writer (Anne Booth – read her!) who along with my husband was urging me to get on with it. And then there was the keeping of faith in the book through its several revisions (as when I wrote that first draft I wasn’t as experienced as I am now).
Was there anything that you edited out of this book that would have drastically affected the story, should it be left in?
Not plot wise, no, but I did heavily edit it. It was about 116,000 words or more in the first draft and I reduced it to about 106,000. Most books are improved by pruning and this one was no exception.
What are you currently working on?
I have three projects on the go. The closest to completion is a Renaissance crime novel, the second is set near Edinburgh in the 1920s and is about a village girl bringing up her son, fathered by a wealthy young man who was killed in the Trenches, while being ignored by the little boy’s grandparents. It’s based on a true story. The third book, at exploratory stage, is based on the life of the 17th century Venetian feminist author, Lucrezia Marinella.
What would you tell an aspiring author who had some doubts about their writing abilities?
Every author should have doubts. If they don’t, their writing suffers. I could list a number of well-known authors who don’t get edited much because they don’t think they need it (but do). Just keep going and when you are not writing yourself, read well.
Personal Interview questions.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I volunteer in a charity bookshop of which I am a founder member. I love travelling, mainly shuttling between my home in Italy and Dublin for writers’ meetings there (I am on the committee of the Irish Writers Union) and to see my younger son, or up to the Netherlands to see our eldest. When I have time, I love to sew. I made my own wedding dresses (I married the same man twice) and have made them and first communion dresses for friends.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was little, it was a ballet dancer. But pretty early on I wanted to be a writer, only I did nothing about it for years and years. Carpe diem, people.
What’s for dinner tonight? What would you rather be eating?
No idea. My husband takes care of all that. Yes, I’m lucky. Somebody asked me once how I persuaded him to be the cook. ‘I cooked for him - once’ I said.
What would be a perfect day?
When I don’t have to get up early but I still do, when I’ve hit my word count, when I have got my other jobs done (I am also a reviewer and a manuscript assessor), when I have done some research for a forthcoming book and when I’ve spent time with my husband, had a walk and spoken to both my sons.
What is the best part of your day?
The evening when I count up what I’ve got done during the day.
Either or!
Tea or coffee: Green tea – but coffee at breakfast
Hot or cold: cold. Wasn’t always like that
Movie or book: book
Morning person or Night owl: night owl
City or country: city, but country for holidays
Social Media or book: book
Paperback or ebook: paperback
