LUCINDA GIFFORD’s three book series ‘The Wolves of Greycoat Hall’ follows the adventures of Boris, a wolf from Morovia!
We caught up with Lucinda to ask her about the first book in her series, The Wolves of Greycoat Hall.
What inspired your story?
A while ago, I learned that there used to be wolves in Scotland, and that some people thought it might be a good idea to bring them back into the mountains there – to ‘re-introduce’ them. I thought it would be fun to write a story about wolves who come to Scotland on holiday instead. They would be clever, kindly wolves who live like humans and are very sophisticated, but they still have very big appetites, and it is very important that they are well fed before venturing out in public.
What can you tell us about Boris and his adventures?
Boris is the hero of the book. He’s a thoughtful, friendly young wolf, who cares about animals, the environment and being fair. He enjoys going on holiday with his parents, Randall and Leonora, except when they take him bird spotting or to antique shops. Boris is always interested in places and people, and that makes him good at solving problems and helping people.
What gave you the idea to write a novel from the perspective of the wolves?
The wolves are the main characters – so the story is always going to be from their point of view. But also, wolves and wolf stories are fascinating to me, maybe because I’m a dog person and dogs are evolved wolves. I often look at my dog, Sheena, and wonder what she’s thinking. Probably she’s thinking about food. That’s why there’s a lot of food in the book.
Your story is set in Scotland – did you take any trips there for this book?
I grew up in Scotland, in the north, not far from where the story in The Wolves of Greycoat Hall is set. We spent a lot of our childhood playing on cold beaches, visiting castles and taking long woodland walks – as well as bird-spotting and going to antique shops, which I found unbelievably dull.
Most of my family still live in Scotland. So I visit with my family every two years. It’s a long way from Australia, and it usually takes over a day to fly there, but it’s worth it!
I quite like bird-spotting now, but not antique shops. I like Scottish cakes very much.
What was your favourite part of writing this story?
My favourite part was writing the wolf history. A lot of this is based on actual history and it was fun changing it to be about wolves, as well as drawing all the wicked wolfie barons and land owners.
My second favourite part was writing about Randall and all his hobbies and interests. Randall is just a tiny bit (ok quite a lot) like my dad, especially when it comes to knowing all about Scottish history and taking up hobbies.
Describe this book in three words.
Battles, castles, cake!
THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lucinda Gifford is the author and illustrator of many well-loved books for kids. Her picture book “Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas” has been chosen for National Simultaneous Storytime 2020, while other recent work includes a new junior fiction series with Emily Rodda, Monty’s Island, and Saved!!! a picture book collaboration with Lydia Williams, goalkeeper for the Matildas. Her books include the ‘Chook Doolan’ series by James Roy and ‘The Adventures of Princess Peony’ series by Nette Hilton (Shortlisted in the 2019 Speech Pathology Awards) and ‘The Cat Wants Custard’ series written by P Crumble (Notable, CBCA awards 2017 and 2018). Her picture book Dogasaurus was also a Notable in the 2019 CBCA awards. Lucinda lives in Melbourne with her family and a very greedy dog.
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