Nancy Bilyeau, a magazine editor, is the author of seven published historical novels and one novella. Her debut was “The Crown,” set in 1530s England. The main character is Joanna Stafford, a half-Spanish, half-English Dominican novice from an aristocratic family in disgrace. In ‘The Crown’ and its follow-up novels, ‘The Chalice’ and ‘The Tapestry,’ Joanna is up against some of the most ruthless men in England. After writing the Tudor novels, published in the US, the UK and 11 foreign countries, between 2012 and 2015, Nancy wrote two 18th century-set novels with a French Huguenot character. ‘The Blue’ and ‘The Fugitive Colours,’ set in the porcelain workshops and portrait studios of England and France, drew on her own Huguenot descent. Most recently, she wrote ‘Dreamland’ and ‘The Orchid Hour,’ set in New York City in the early 20th century. She moved to the Hudson Valley, just north of NYC, several years ago, and is busy working on her first garden.
Why are you talking about the Tudors again?
Last year, my UK publisher, Orion, told me that they were re-publishing ‘The Crown’ and ‘The Chalice’ with brand-new covers and jacket material. I was very pleased! It’s been so interesting to see these books with new covers but even more so, to delve back into the period of time that I began my fiction career writing about. I’ve been reading fiction and non-fiction set in the 16th century before, during, and after writing my trilogy. It’s a great interest of mine, I would never want to stop. But it’s different to be a writer of Tudor fiction and to be purely a reader.
Why did you move from the Tudors to the 18th century in your work?
It was a combination of things. By the time ‘The Tapestry’ came out, my U.S. publisher, Touchstone, was not as invested in putting out historical fiction. (Now that imprint of Simon & Schuster is closed.) Some people said that the Tudors were “over.” It didn’t seem that way to me, and obviously authors are continuing to create wonderful Tudor fiction. I looked at it as an opportunity to explore other world. I am a magazine writer and editor and for a while I was a screenwriter—in other words, I am used to jumping around among different periods and styles. I came up with the idea that became ‘The Blue’ while I was touring Hillwood, the Marjorie Merriweather Post estate in Washington, DC. Post owned an amazing collection of Sevres porcelain. The tour guide said, “In the 18th century, the rivalries between the porcelain workshops was like the space race of its time.” I thought that was fantastic! I’d always wanted to write a spy story, and I decided to make it an 18th century spy story set in the porcelain world.
And then you wrote books set in early 20th century New York. Why that change?
Again, it was because I had an idea for a novel. When I found out that on Coney Island, in the 1910s, there were beautiful resort hotels for the rich and powerful a mile down the beach from “America’s Playground,” the amusement park that was drawing thousands every day, including from the tenements of New York City, I thought it would make for an amazing culture clash story. I created an heiress who falls in love with an immigrant artist—and of course there is a string of murders going on at the same time! After that I wrote a novella, ‘The Ghost of Madison Avenue,’ because I woke up one day feeling, “I MUST write a Christmas ghost story.” So I did, and set it in the Morgan Museum in 1912. And then most recently I wrote “The Orchid Hour,” set in Little Italy and Greenwich Village in 1923, a place and time I am obsessed with. I’d lived in New York City for years, and read a great deal about its history. I am always on the lookout for a historical flourish in a building’s architecture or a stretch of cobblestone where you least expect it.
How do your publishers and your readers feel about your jumping through time and across continents?
The publishers seem fine with it! They want a compelling story, a strong main character, well paced, and lots of conflict. There is a common thread running through each of my novels: a woman solving a crime, launching an investigation, or becoming a spy, in a rich, fascinating time and place. Often there is a romance bubbling away in the background, but it’s rarely the whole point. Neither are these traditional murder mysteries. But there is that similarity among all my books. Everyone knows how much I love to write atmosphere. I try to build a world in each historical novel. So it’s not like I’m showing up with a science fiction story one day or a modern noir plot. I haven’t plunged too far off course.
Now, my readers. I have to say there is a hard core of committed Joanna Stafford readers who would love to see another Tudor book. They usually like ‘The Blue’ and ‘The Fugitive Colours’ as well, but to be honest, they sometimes find the New York City-set books too far from their comfort zone in fiction. While people who enjoy ‘Dreamland’ or ‘The Orchid Hour’ are usually happiest in the 20th century as far as their novels go and not reading a lot of Tudor. So I have two groups, it sometimes seems. I think that’s delightful, actually.
If you have readers who want you to return to the Tudor world, why don’t you do that?
That goes back to publishers and who has which series and their editorial mindset. It’s something I am open to. I’ve found myself in an interesting headspace lately. I wrote a short story for an anthology in the last month and it was an opportunity to explore my earlier enthusiasms. I can’t give anything away in this stage, but I’ll share this with you. The name of the short story is “The Reliquary.” That should say a lot.
To find out more about Nancy’s work, go to www.nancybilyeau.com
The Crown and The Chalice will be republished by Orion books in the UK on November 23rd. Go here
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