The author of the prize-winning Hamnet on her first children’s book, conquering her stammer, and the advantages of living with a fellow novelist
Maggie O’Farrell, 48, was born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland and grew up in North Berwick, Scotland. She has written eight novels and one memoir. Her debut, After You’d Gone, won the 2000 Betty Trask award and her third novel, The Distance Between Us, the 2005 Somerset Maugham award. In 2010 she was awarded the Costa book award (novel) for The Hand That First Held Mine. Her most recent novel, Hamnet, won this year’s Woman’s prize for fiction and is Waterstones’ book of the year. Her latest book, Where Snow Angels Go, published last month, is her first for children. She is married to novelist William Sutcliffe and has three children.
What were the inspirations behind Where Snow Angels Go?
The Snow Angel was a character I had told my children about for a long time. It started when I was in the back of an ambulance with my daughter, who has fairly regular episodes of anaphylactic shock. One of the symptoms is that you get very cold and she was quite small at the time and very scared and I said: “It’s OK, don’t worry, there’s a snow angel in this ambulance and he’s wrapping his wings around you.” I’ve always loved the idea of angels.
