How I did it: Annie Elliot

Mr & Mrs Charles Dickens, Her story… by Annie Elliot

Aged forty-five Charles Dickens fell in love with a teenager and banished his wife from their home and nine children, wrecking her reputation to protect his own.

Catherine Dickens wanted her letters published – 'So the world may know he loved me once,' she said. This novel uses these letters to fulfil her wish and gives Catherine the voice she was denied in life as she relives their true story of passion and bitter betrayal. Buy your copy here.

How I did it

After years of rejection, this novel was third time lucky for me. My first novel, which was part of my MA, was longlisted in the Mslexia Novel Competition, which was a huge confidence boost. It was a fictionalised account of my troubled marriage. Having supported my husband financially for decades, I discovered he’d been having affairs the whole time. I sent the book to 50 agents and had some very encouraging responses, but no offer of representation. 

After I divorced my husband, I wrote another novel based on my experiences as an older woman on Tinder – which was also rejected. 

Then I read Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell and thought, Yes! Why don’t I write about the wife of a famous person? I’ve always been interested in Charles Dickens, so I started reading about Catherine, the wife he turfed out after 22 years of marriage and ten children, to pursue a secret affair with his teenage mistress. 

I discovered no one had written a novel about her, but what really convinced me was that scene from Love Actually, where the Emma Thompson character sees her husband buying a necklace at Christmas and assumes it’s for her, only to open a CD from him on the day. And I realised the same thing had happened to Catherine, when a bracelet intended for Charles’ mistress was delivered to the house instead of to his office. It made me think, I know all about being a wronged wife. I can do this. 

Having been through the mill with my two previous novels, my original plan was to self-publish – I’m not getting any younger and I wanted to get it out as soon as possible. Then I bought a copy of the Indie Press Guide and, honestly, its the best £20 I’ve ever spent. I sent the manuscript to three publishers specialising in historical fiction and Envelope Books got back to me the very next day. I’ve led a charmed life ever since. 

I’d already been experimenting with writing and performing monologues with the Frome Writers’ Collective, so I thought it would be fun to dress up as the older Mrs Dickens and read from the novel in character for the launch event. I found a photo of Catherine in later life, as wide as Queen Victoria, and I look just like her in my bonnet and crinoline. The book was launched at the Charles Dickens Museum – they made it part of their Extraordinary Women Exhibition, so they managed all the publicity – and completely sold out. 

Since then I’ve performed regularly at the Dickens Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth, and at literary festivals, WIs, branches of the Dickens Fellowship – I’m currently booked up until the end of next year. I don’t charge anything for my readings because they’re a great way to promote my book – I’ve sold hundreds so far. 

ANNIE ELLIOT worked as a college lecturer, civil servant and newspaper reporter before she retired. She left school at 16 and worked as a secretary but later went to university as a mature student, working part-time to pay the bills. She now has an BA in Literary Studies and an MA in Creative Writing. Mr & Mrs Charles Dickens was launched in March this year. Her time is currently spent promoting the novel, writing a second novel, researching a third one, and looking after her youngest granddaughter while her daughter works. Find her at www.annieelliot.co.uk

 

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