Hackney writer Jane Harris makes Orange Prize longlist

Hackney writer Jane Harris. Photograph: Jerry Bauer

Hackney-based author Jane Harris has recently learned that her second novel, Gillespie and I, has been longlisted for the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction.

Ms Harris’ highly-acclaimed first novel, The Observations, was shortlisted for the same prize in 2007, and she is widely seen as a rising star in the world of fiction.

Gillespie and I is set in turn-of-the-century Glasgow and charts the tale of Harriet Baxter and painter Ned Gillespie. Full of mystery and deception, this Gothic tale has captured the imagination of numerous readers since its publication last year.

The Hackney Citizen met Ms Harris to ask her about history, place and writing.

HC: Congratulations on Gillespie and I being longlisted for the Orange Prize. How did you react to the news?

JH: I was absolutely delighted and a bit stunned, to be honest. It’s such an amazing list, and includes some real heavyweights, so it’s a huge honour that Gillespie and I is on there.

HC: Do you see yourself as a writer of ‘women’s fiction’? If so, what does this term mean to you? If not, how do you define your audience?

JH: No, I see myself as a writer of fiction. The term ‘women’s fiction’ means nothing to me. I don’t define my audience, since I have no need or desire to.

HC: The Observations and Gillespie and I are both historical novels. What attracts you to this genre, and why have you chosen the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

JH: It’s a bit of an accident really. My first novel The Observations began as a short story I was thinking of doing as part of a series of linked stories set during a variety of periods in history. To my surprise, the story expanded into a novel. After that it seemed to make sense to write another historical book. I like to make life difficult for myself which is one reason I may be writing historical fiction. It’s harder to write about another era than it is to write about now (despite what some contemporary novelists might claim!)

HC: You live in Hackney and write about Scotland. How does your distance from Scotland affect your work? And does any of Hackney rub off on your writing?

JH: My first novel is set in Central Scotland. The second is set in London and Glasgow. The novel I’m writing at the moment is set in the Caribbean. I love inhabiting the imagined worlds of my novels. Present-day Hackney provides a nice contrast.

Gillespie and I
Faber and Faber
RRP: £7.99
ISBN:  978-0-571-23830-9.

The Orange Prize shortlist will be announced on 17 April.

Gillespie and I explores loneliness and love