Private life becomes public in Dame Jacqueline’s love story
Tracy Beakercreator Dame Jacqueline Wilson speaks to Hannah Stephensonabouther latestsame- sexlove story andhowher books reflect modern life.
SOME MIGHT say it was a brave move for Tracy Beaker creator Dame Jacqueline Wilson to focus on a samesex love story in her latest novel, because it would inevitably draw attention to her own private life.
“I rather thought it would,” the former Children’s Laureate admits. “Nowadays, I don’t think anybody who’s vaguely in the news seems to be entitled to a private life.”
Wilson, 74, who has now written 111 books, publicly came out in April, when her new novel Love Frankie was due for publication, although the date was subsequently delayed to September thanks to Covid. The genial author, a witty, wise and modern- thinking septuagenarian, lives with her longterm partner Trish, and reflects that her same- sex partnership was not news to those who are close to her.
“I’ve been in a very happy relationship with another woman for 18 years. Everybody who even vaguely knew me knew all about it, so it wasn’t like a grand ‘ coming out’. To my way of thinking, I’ve never been in.”
Love Frankie is a story about the eponymous 14- year- old tomboy teenager who falls in love with Sally, the prettiest girl in the class, who is also a school bully but strikes up an unlikely friendship with innocent Frankie.
As with so many of Wilson’s stories, the backdrop explores other issues.
Frankie’s parents are separated and her mother has MS, so she has to cope with emotional turmoil in her home life as well as discovering the joys and pain of first love. “I’d written about teenagers falling in love with boys and I thought, why don’t I write about a same- sex ‘ falling in love’ story? It was hard for me to think of many recent books which deal with two girls falling in love.
“Whether you’re gay or straight or not decided, falling in love is such an extraordinary thing, it blows you away.”
Wilson was married for 38 years before separating from her husband, printer Millar Wilson. She says she’s not sure if she was gay when she married him at 19 – they eventually divorced in 2004, and have a daughter, Emma. “I truly feel that I fall in love with the person, not their gender. I had an ok marriage. We were totally different and I did my best to make a go of it,” she reflects.
She says her late mother wasn’t best pleased when Wilson began her relationship with Trish. “My mother certainly disapproved, but she was just being awkward because she had gay friends herself and was very fond of other gay people. My mother and I never really got on.”
Wilson, who last year visited Gateways School in Leeds for a series of writing workshops and to present awards at its annual prizegiving ceremony, has tackled divorce, bullying, broken families and other adult issues in her children’s books without alienating her audience, and her latest offering is no different. Blended families, illness and sibling rivalry are all thrown into the mix.
In the past she faced criticism from parents who felt their children should be reading fairy tale stories rather than those peppered with modern social issues. “Some people did feel that what they wanted was pure escapism for their children. I understand that. I’ve tried never to make my books too depressing or frightening and there’s generally a really bright light at the end of the tunnel. Luckily, I’ve rarely had a negative response. People know that if you want an absolutely fairy tale world, don’t go to my books.”
Part of her aim is to let children who may be experiencing difficult issues know that they are not alone. The other is to give them an entertaining read.
She’s already written her next book, The Runaway Girls, due out in spring, and is excited that Dani Harmer will be returning next year as Tracy Beaker, now a single mum with a 12- year- old daughter, in a new CBBC series, My Mum Tracy Beaker. “I hope all these plans can go ahead – but who knows?”