By Martin Russell
Irish American Post Book Editor

When it comes to the Goode Olde Days, there are few writers able to capture the past and bring it to present day readers than Emma Donoghue, the Canadian author of Life Mask (Harcourt, ISBN 0-15-100943-0,2004, $26). The novel is a marvelous tale of a scandal pulled from real-life London of the late 1700s. The era glittered, with financial and political disaster looming as the French Revolution across the Channel shakes the ancien regimes of a tradition-bound Europe. 

The history and writing bugs had bitten her early, even while growing up in Dublin, since her dad Denis was a professor of English and her mother was an English teacher and guidance counselor. Her father is now a noted literary critic based at New York University. There was a serious side to the family, as well, with a grandfather in the old Royal Ulster Constabulary in Co. Down. He was one of only a few Catholics in the police force prior to the founding of the Irish Free State in the 1920s.

"I had bookish parents," Donoghue admitted. "There were eight of us in the family in an environment of art and writing. I was spoiled, being at the bottom of the pile," she laughed. 

Donoghue credits her mother with keeping her interest in history alive. "She was always taking me to graveyards, old homes and places like that," she recalled. "Now I love doing research, finding it immensely enjoyable. I try to find out who was at the same dinner, who sent each other mail and such daily life activities beyond the generalities."

However, Donoghue received her doctorate in 18th century fiction at Cambridge University and lived in England for eight years before moving to Canada. She said she returns regularly to Ireland to visit family. Donaghue’s first two novel were based in Dublin. "But I came to my limits soon, I was writing about things foreign to me. So because I have done so much reading in the historical fiction genre, I decided to try some historical short stories. Subsequently, I have discovered other centuries and topics," she asserted.

One of her main writing themes focuses on characters seeking to find their fortune, often attempting outrageous new ways of living. The main players in Life Mask follow this footprint, including Eliza Farren, born to the "lower classes" but becoming the "Queen of Comedy" at the Drury Lane Theater, along with the Earl of Derby, a lover of horse racing, and Anne Damer, the only woman sculptor of her era. The book is a love triangle, written primarily from the women’s point of view.

"If I don’t like my characters, I don’t want to write about them, even if one is a villain," Donoghue affirmed, admitting, "I have to be able to do that because my strength is character, more than plot." She added that the characters live inside her head and that she often becomes quite fond of them.

The author said she never found building characters to be a hard job, yet she said she rewrote her story Stir Fry eight times to get it all right. Donoghue also based one of her major characters in Slammerkin on her own mother. At least with Life Mask, Donoghue had a wealth of sources from which to draw, a factor which help move along the story. She was able to bring in numerous true-to-life side personalities with which to enliven the latter tale, such as Derby’s real friend, Richard Sheridan, along with the Whig politician Charles James Fox and Damer’s cousin, Horace Walpole.

Donoghue prefers to work on several books at once, in addition to writing radio dramas and short stories. She keeps extensive files on her characters in each piece, as well as information on the society in which they function. She wants to know what they are reading, what the weather was like, the foods they would eat. "I just want to draw in the details, not to lecture readers.," she indicated. Donoghue currently has four books in the works, working on them during plane flights and at other times away from home. "I don’t let one die, I have to keep them going," she said.

Life Mask took two main rewrites, incorporating editors’ suggestions, although she does drafts as she goes along with her stories. "It’s dangerous to use a loved one as a sounding board, however," she warned, although she has discussed overall eras with her family and her mother read a draft of Slammerkin. 

"In writing, I don’t know what will eventually fit into a book, so I just jot down a lot of things and it comes together eventually," she indicated. Donoghue said she may even sit around daydreaming in the initial stages of her story and then begin shaping it. "This is deeply enjoyable when something glitters in my imagination. I really love the writing, although it is sometimes hard to get started. But when writing well, it’s satisfying.," she said, adding that composing dialog was the most fun. 

"I don’t aim for a certain length in the manuscript. The length depends on the shape of the story and I will write until it is ‘finished,’" said Donoghue, who added that creating little worlds made of words is a wonderful process.

She often tries to select the title for her works, although her publishers have the final say. "It’s like having a nanny for the baby," Donoghue laughed.

Living in Canada for the past six years, Donoghue has had to learn to deal with a lot of cultural differences, such as driving "on the wrong side" of the road. Indicating that she was like a "stranger in a strange land," Donoghue still appreciates the country’s socially progressive landscape, not like life in Ireland in Britain which is she felt was more tradition-bound. In addition, she sees Canada as having a bookish culture, a country where writing is well appreciated. 

"I also like meeting my readers," she said of the literary process. "It’s wonderful when a reader comes to one of my appearances with one of my early books. It’s like a gathering of old friends."

Donoghue often doesn’t use a desk from which to write, preferring to sit on a sofa and lean back while creating on a laptop. "It’s that cushioned surface," she said. When the writing slows down, she tells herself that she’s written before and can write again, and then gets back to work.

Although Ireland is becoming more pluralistic in Donoghue’s mind, it is still 95% white and Catholic, Donoghue said, so she loves Canada as a nation of immigrants. "It’s easy to be a newcomer in Canada," Donoghue added. One can’t say the transition to her new homeland hasn’t been eventful. Shortly after receiving her Canadian citizenship and learning how to drive the North American way, a tree fell on her comfortable yellow brick house near Toronto. The next day, in November, 2003, her son, Finn, was born. Donoghue’s mother came from Ireland to help Donahue and her partner, Chris Rouston, care for the baby. Donoghue met Rouston, currently a professor of French at the University of Western Ontario, while the two were at Cambridge.

Donoghue relaxes by watching films and subscribes to an on-line DVD service. "Some smart writing is on television," she said. In addition, she loves yoga and cooking, being an eclectic chef who doesn’t use a cookbook. "I vaguely remember bacon and scallops and rhubarb tarts from growing up. But there’s no nostalgia in my dishes," she said. 

Donoghue enjoys reading, as well, appreciating such contemporary authors as Marian Keyes and Maeve Binchy. "I have a lot of heroes," she said of the book world. "I love Roddy Doyle, he’s very readable. We have the same history, being from Dublin and all."

After all, ultimately it’s history that really counts for Emma Donoghue.