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Here are the key points from Maggie O’Farrell’s notes and comments about her novel *Land*:
– **Inspiration and Writing Process:**
– The opening sentence, “His father was ever a man of few words,” came to her suddenly while on a train.
– She wrote a lot in that initial burst and was very excited by the process.
– **Historical Background:**
– The book is inspired by her great-great-grandfather, who worked on Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland starting in 1848.
– These maps were revised after the Great Famine in Ireland (1845-1852), which killed about one million people and forced many more into exile.
– The revisions reflect dramatic changes: villages wiped out, estates redrawn, and many people evicted.
– **Themes of the Book:**
– *Land* is her most political novel.
– It explores colonisation and devastation during the famine years.
– It tells the story of families trying to find their way after this catastrophe, set against the backdrop of British aristocrats and landowners who owned the estates where people starved.
– **The Great Famine Context:**
– The famine was caused not only by potato blight but also by political and socio-economic factors tied to British colonial rule.
– While other food crops were exported to Britain, Irish people starved.
– The ballad *The Fields of Athenry* alludes to “Trevelyan’s corn,” referring to Charles Trevelyan, the British civil servant responsible for famine relief.
– **Charles Edward Trevelyan:**
– O’Farrell finds his attitude “upsetting and horrifying.”
– He described the famine as “an act of God for an idle, indolent, ungrateful, unself-reliant people.”
– Despite this attitude, he was knighted a year later—a knighthood O’Farrell thinks should be rescinded.
– **Personal Connection and Displacement:**
– O’Farrell was born in Northern Ireland and moved to Wales and Scotland as a child.
– She describes displacement as living alongside a “ghost self,” always wondering “who would I have been if we’d stayed?”
– References to past selves and ghosts appear as a recurring theme in her novels.
– **Visual Elements:**
– Included images show a detailed map with tiny paintings of her great-great-grandfather and a British soldier.
– Historical photos and illustrations depict the devastation of the famine and Trevelyan himself.
In summary, *Land* is a deeply personal and political novel tying family history to one of Ireland’s most tragic periods, exploring themes of displacement, loss, and the complex legacies of colonialism
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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