Nov 8, 2021
Charlie and Rebecca F John (The Haunting Of Henry Twist) discuss being gay and bisexual in the 1920s, the way the flapper years could mask the effects of War, and the fictional man who cannot believe that his male partner is not some sort of reincarnation of his dead wife.
Please be aware that there are spoilers throughout this episode; we couldn't discuss the book properly without them!
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Question Index
01:09 You were named on the Hay Festival's 'Hay
30' list. Can you tell us about that?
02:23 Would you categorise this book as historical
fiction or historical fantasy?
07:54 Why did you choose to include Ruby in the
way you did?
10:16 Is there a connection between the pacing of
the novel and what Henry's going through?
11:42 Why were Monty, Matilda, and Grayson's
stories included?
14:04 Henry lives a lot of his life with fear; how
much is this a book about the war?
15:57 Were the surnames, Twist and Turner, chosen
for any particular reason?
16:52 Is there more to Jack than Henry's ideas -
is he even a fully-fledged person?
19:28 I know it's down to reader interpretation,
but who is Jack to you, as far as you're concerned?
22:21 Henry and Jack's relationship is accepted by
their friends, but what would have happened if it hadn't been?
25:24 What was the treatment of single fatherhood
like at the time?
27:47 Did you ever consider having Henry become
comfortable as a bisexual person?
29:39 Does Henry love Jack?
30:51 What do you want readers to take away from
reading this book?
32:18 Could Monty, Matilda, Grayson, and Sally, be
happy together?
33:51 What's next?
Purchase Links
The Haunting Of Henry Twist:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Empty Greatcoat (January 2022):
Amazon UK
Fannie (February 2022):
Amazon UK
Waterstones
Hive
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.