We chat with author Melinda Taub about The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, which is a sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.
Hi, Melinda! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Melinda, and I live in Brooklyn, New York. I used to write for a TV show called Full Frontal With Samantha Bee. Now I write books and walk my dog a lot.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Do you guys know what a Trapper Keeper is? Oh, man, they were SO important. They were these sort of binders with lots of pockets and a Velcro closure, and any primary schooler who was anyone had to have one. I got one as a gift when I was six (palm tree cover) and was so awed by the occasion that I flopped right down on the floor and wrote a story in it. It was about the sun and the moon getting in a fight because they each wanted to rule the day and the night. I wouldn’t say I loved writing back then, but that was my first experience with feeling like I HAD to do it. So no, parents, the generic version of the school supplies AREN’T as good as the swanky name-brand version your kid’s begging for.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
- Dancing Shoes, Noel Streatfeild.
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams.
- Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. (Did she know? Did she know the monster’s pain was her pain from her father’s rejection? Was that deliberate, or did her hurt bleed through unconsciously into her writing?)
Your latest novel, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, is out October 3rd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Lydia had her reasons, okay?!
What can readers expect?
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is a re-examining of Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of youngest, wildest sister Lydia. It’s about magic spells, empire waists, and empire, but mostly it’s about how everyone is living out their own story, and even the people you know best may be living not only in a different book, but a different genre.
Where did the inspiration for Scandalous Confessions come from?
When I was Samantha Bee’s head writer, I had a lot of stress in my life and watched a lot of news. The only way I could power down to sleep at night was to read some Jane Austen. I started thinking about Lydia – all of Austen’s books are about this very narrow, well-off sliver of society, and all the characters frantically trying not to fall out of it. Well, Lydia does fall out of it. She’s going to have a harder life than her sisters. But she’ll also see things they’ll never see. I started to think – what if she’s already got one foot in a different world? Also what if Kitty was a cat?
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really had fun writing the scenes between Lydia and Kitty. I’m very close to my sisters and nieces so writing that sisterly dynamic was a delight.
What’s next for you?
Lydia Bennet’s not the only Bennet sister who I think deserves a turn in the spotlight. What exactly is Mary Bennet up to in the attic? It’s not witchcraft, Mary would never… but why does she need all that sulfuric acid? Hey, is that a lightning rod?
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Lately I’ve been rereading a lot of books I loved as a child. Juniper, by Monica Furlong, is about a medieval Cornish princess who trains as a sorceress. It’s just as wonderful as it was when I was nine.
I’ve also been on a Wilkie Collins kick. The Moonstone is an 1868 book that’s often called the first mystery novel. It’s fascinating to see the conventions start to take shape in his hands. Also, since I’ve been writing about the Regency for so long, it’s insane to read a book set just a few decades later because the railways have been built and the characters make journeys in an afternoon that my characters would need days on the road to complete! I think I’m getting a glimpse at the awe they must have felt.
Like everyone else, I read This Is How You Lose The Time War this summer, and like everyone else, I fell hard for it. Time-traveling shape-shifting Lesbian epistolary star-crossed romance? Yes please.
