Scottish Bookshelf
Glasgow-based Australian writer Helen Fitzgerald’s latest novel explores the devastating effect of climate change on small town life
An interview with Glasgow-based author Helen FitzGerald plus all the latest book reviews
SINCE her first novel Dead Lovely was published in 2007, Glasgow-based writer Helen Fitzgerald has penned gripping read after gripping read. But the domestic noir author says that it was only after she began writing about her native home of Australia, that she finally found her voice.
Her latest novel to be set down under is Ash Mountain. The book tells the story of Fran, a woman returning to her home town to look after her ailing father, with her distant teenage daughter Vonny in tow. As she settles back into life in the claustrophobic town that she was so desperate to leave, old crimes, new loves and a raging bushfire threaten Fran’s fragile existence.
The author says that Ash Mountain is a climate change book, first and foremost.
“I think for me, Ash Mountain has been the biggest thing that I’ve written and I’ve had a really emotional experience with it. By the time the book was due, the most recent fires had hit and I just felt absolutely sick. I thought I can’t hand this book in with these fires going on.
“They are going to go on forever. To me, it really did look like Australia was going to be the first place to go. I thought this is it. I stayed up all night following the story. When it was at its worst, I couldn’t sleep. It has been really, really scary.”
Helen says that writing the book was an incredibly moving experience.
“I’d kind of become obsessed with people’s stories after the last big Australian bushfire. So, I decided to write something about the people living in these small towns and how they are affected by these events.
“I wanted to write something that would make readers stop and think. I believe that empathy is the thing that we need to help us through these terrible times. That was my aim – to make readers really feel for the victims of bushfires.”
After relocating to Scotland 30 years ago, Helen re-trained as a criminal justice social worker, working in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. She says that her experiences there inspired much of her writing work.
“I think that all crimes begin at home, so I will always write about domestic stuff and family life. The years I spent as a social worker have really informed my work. I think it has affected the way I write as well, in terms of bringing other people’s points of view into my stories, because that’s how social workers gather information for risk assessments. My books are never just about one person. They are about the people around them too.”
In 2018, Helen’s gripping novel The Cry was made into a BBC drama starring Doctor Who and Victoria star Jenna Coleman. The thrilling four-part series followed the story of couple Joanna and Alistair, whose four-month-old baby, Noah, disappears during a family visit to Australia.
The Cry is just one of Helen’s books that has been optioned by Synchronicity Films, run by BAFTA awardwinning film and television producer, Claire Mundell.
“To be honest, I never expected anything to happen with The Cry. Claire had also optioned Dead Lovely and The Devil’s Staircase, but The Cry has been the only one of my books that’s made it on to screen.
“Once Jacqueline Perske was onboard and wrote those amazing scripts it all started happening quite quickly. The head of drama at the time green lit the project, but then left her post soon after. That was so disappointing, because we were just on the brink of having the series made. Then a year later, new people were in place and the ball was rolling again. I think having Jenna Coleman on board really clinched it.”
After all the build-up, Helen says that she became quite nervous about the TV series finally being aired.
“Up until then, I’d been a comfortable failure. No one really knew who I was and then suddenly they were
“I think having Jenna Coleman on board really clinched it”
going to be watching my story on screen. I was worried. I kept thinking, oh my god, people are going to spot holes in my plot! I thought the show was absolutely amazing though, it really blew me away. They did such a brilliant job. I think the experience was just a bit overwhelming. I hope that next time, I’ll be able to enjoy it more.”
The Cry was the first book that Helen had ever set in Australia, an experience that she says was transformative for her as a writer.
“I think that The Cry has been my best book so far, and that’s down to it being set in Australia. When I first started writing, everyone, including agents and publishers, told me that I should always set my work here in the UK. They said that the UK was my market and that audiences here wouldn’t be interested in reading an Australian-based story. So, for those first 10 books, I’d just followed that advice.
“It wasn’t until I saw The Cry on screen that I realised that setting a book in my home country, had made
such a big difference to my writing. I think there’s something about being a child in a place that gives you an ownership and authority about it, one that you don’t get elsewhere.”
Growing up in the small Australian town of Kilmore, Helen studied at Melbourne University. After graduation, she decided to travel and ended up in Scotland where she met her screen-writing husband Sergio Casci.
“When I met him, we both wanted to be writers and we really encouraged each other. It was after our son was born 19 years ago, that I really started to put pen to paper. I think it was after the experience of having kids that I thought, ‘right if I can do that, I can do anything’.”
Helen says that she finds Scotland’s stories and legends particularly inspiring.
“There is such a rich history of stories here and they always have a dark thread of humour weaved through. Even when things are as dark as they can possibly be, there’s always this amazing wit present.
“It’s very similar to the kind of humour I grew up around in Australia and something that I always include in my writing.”
Living in Glasgow has had a huge impact on Helen’s writing style.
“I think living in Glasgow definitely inspires my writing. When I lived in Australia, I was always worried about what other people thought of me. I think that is something that probably happens to a lot of people – you can only really flourish once you leave.
“I think Glasgow is very good for creative people. There are communities of writers here and everybody talks about being creative and making things. I really don’t think I would be writing if it wasn’t for this city.
“I got Creative Scotland funding early on in my career and that really gave me the confidence to write. I’m an Aussie, but I’ve never been made to feel like I shouldn’t be part of the Scottish writing community. I’ve always been very welcomed.”