JESSICA STANLEY is an Australian novelist living in London. Her latest book, Consider Yourself Kissed, is a portrait of a woman in love.
We caught up with Jessica to chat about the parallels between her life and her characters.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Mother, writer, worker, sister, friend, citizen, daughter, wife. If she could be one, perhaps she could manage. Trying to be all, she found she was none.
Coralie has grown up in Australia but needs to escape some ghosts there. At twenty-nine, adrift in London, she meets witty, sexy, generous Adam-and his charming four-year-old daughter. Falling in love is fun, romantic and reassuring. And then?
Coralie yearns for children of her own, and to become a writer. Gradually, with Adam, who has a blossoming career as a political commentator, she builds the home and family she’s longed for.
But her trips back to Australia change her perspective. Ten years on, she realises something important is missing- herself. When she reaches breaking point, the results surprise everyone.
In this this is an unforgettable story about what ‘happily ever after’ might truly mean, Jessica Stanley writes about life as we live it. Against the backdrop of a turbulent decade in politics, she reveals how our intimate dramas can get tangled up with the public events of our times.
**********
MEET JESSICA STANLEY
You grew up in Australia and later moved to London like your character Coralie. Did you draw from your own life to craft this story?
I moved to London when I was 29, just as Coralie did – but unlike her, I had met my UK-based love interest before I moved. She had to bravely move alone. The backdrop of Hackney is all real – it’s been my home now for 14 years. Some funny moments from my life, like things I’ve heard people say, made it into the book. But most importantly, every feeling Coralie has felt, I’ve felt. So, while the events and people aren’t properly ‘real’, autobiographically, they are (from my perspective) true.
Consider Yourself Kissed looks at the struggles of young motherhood – what drew you to this subject?
My children are older now (the eldest is 11). While I still read non-fiction about child development, I’ve been a bit ‘on strike’ when it comes to reading fiction about the early days. I don’t want to be plunged into the details of cracked nipples and sleeplessness. But I found I did have a lot to say and explore about the emotions of that time in family life.
As Coralie is a step-mother to a child who ages from four to 15 in the book, and then has children of her own, I could show what it’s like to follow children through their childhoods – how joyful and rewarding it is, and also how painful (almost like a form of grief) to see them growing up.
What do you hope to convey about the role our roots play in shaping who we are?
When I go back to Australia I’m suddenly much more in touch with older versions of myself. Something about the smells, the light, the beautiful buildings and the bird sounds remind me of the past and suddenly I remember being a child, a teenager, a young adult. We might be grown up, living on the other side of the world, loved and in love, but that child and that young person is still inside us.
It can be good to revisit the past in some ways – it can be extremely creative and the source of many insights. But there can also be pain from that time that bubbles up and knowingly or unknowingly affects the present. My hope is that by following Coralie for a decade of her life, I can attempt to draw those connections.
Where do you get your love of storytelling from?
Reading was always my thing. There was always one night a week that the local library stayed open late, and I can remember (long before I started school) that my parents took me out in the car after bathtime, when I was in my pyjamas and dressing gown. It was just such a treat to be out at night, to be allowed to roam around and choose my own books, and to be fussed over by librarians, I remember one of them used to offer me pretzels. It felt grown up, independent and special. The pyjama era ended but the library stayed part of my life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m Jessica Stanley, an Australian novelist living in London.
I grew up in Melbourne, studied in Canberra, and worked in journalism, on the set of the TV show Neighbours, for the trade union movement, and in advertising. Since moving to the UK in 2011, I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter while writing fiction. My Australian first novel A Great Hope was published in 2022.
I’m now a British citizen (as well as – of course – an Australian one)! I live in East London with my husband and our three children.
0 Comments