A Conversation with Jane Feather, Author of All the Queen's Players

Q. You’ve written many historical romance novels. How did your experience writing those books impact your writing process on All the Queen’s Players?

A. I’ve always enjoyed the historical research involved, and this book, with its emphasis more on the history than on pure romance, offered more opportunity for in-depth research. I’ve always liked to have actual historical figures on the periphery of my novels, but with this one it was possible to make them central to the action and plot development. It was a wonderfully rich experience.

Q. Rosamund is quite a dynamic young lady. Was her character inspired by anyone in history? By anyone in real life?

A. I’ve always enjoyed creating women characters who stand out against the conventional lives expected of them in any particular historical period. Throughout history there are always real-life examples of strong, dynamic, and unconventional women to be found, and of course, during this period, Queen Elizabeth herself was the perfect example: a highly educated woman who ruled men, kept her country safe through some of its most turbulent times, practiced the most devious diplomacy, and avoided marriage because it would reduce her to the role of a mere consort rather than a most powerful sovereign.

Q. Describe the research you had to do in order to correctly represent real-life characters such as Queen Elizabeth and Christopher Marlowe. Were there any interesting stories you came across about your characters that did not make it into the novel?

A. I was initially surprised at the number of scholarly books available about Marlowe’s life and work, as I had thought very little was known about him apart from his writing. But dedicated scholars have pieced together a wonderful picture using scraps of information, including something as esoteric as his buttery accounts at Corpus Christi to support the theory of his activities with Sir Francis Walsingham. There is, of course, copious material available on Queen Elizabeth. I would have loved to incorporate more of the devious world of Walsingham’s secret service and the detailed speculation about Marlowe’s part in it. It reads like a detective story, and his death remains one of the great historical mysteries. Was his murder ordered by Essex? Was it ordered by Sir Francis Drake? Was someone trying to protect his own secrets? All of these are theories offered in explanation, and of course, there’s the other little story about how Marlowe’s death was faked, and he went on to live and write Shakespeare’s plays.



Q. Who is your favorite character in the story and why? Do you relate particularly to any of the characters?

A. Kit Marlowe is my favorite, without question: an Elizabethan “roaring boy” whose extraordinary genius somehow blossomed despite his reckless, hot-tempered character. He killed at least one man in his short career, spent some time in prison, was accused of counterfeiting coins in the Low Countries, and yet was the acknowledged friend and confidant of some of the greatest scientific and literary minds of the period. And he died at twenty-nine, leaving the world to wonder, What if ? As far as relating to a character is concerned, I probably relate more to Rosamund than to any other, although I am a lamentable artist!

Q. How did you get started in your writing career? What is your background and what authors are your influences?

A. My educational background is in clinical social work, rather a far cry from writing historical romances. But my real loves have always been history and literature, and I’ve always enjoyed writing stories. I have very eclectic tastes in authors, but in the field of historical novels I cut my teeth on Alexandre Dumas, Baroness Orczy, Daphne du Maurier, Georgette Heyer, Thackeray, Robert Graves . . . the list goes on.



Q. Is Elizabethan England your favorite period in history? What other eras do you find intriguing?

A. It’s certainly a period I find fascinating, but there are many others. I am particularly enthralled by the English civil war period, the Restoration, Georgian England, the Napoleonic Wars.

Q. You were born in Egypt, grew up in the south of England, and now live in Maryland. Explain how the various places you have lived have helped shape you as a writer.

A. I was born in Egypt because my parents were stationed there, but as I left when I was three years old, I doubt it had much influence on me. I had a very “proper” English childhood and education, with a heavy emphasis on reading and literature. But I probably wouldn’t have started writing novels if my husband and I had not taken the plunge and moved our family to the States in 1978. Shaking up life in one aspect makes it seem much easier to contemplate taking quite different paths in another.

Q. Your novel depicts a part of Elizabethan court life that we don’t often see. Was it important to you to present an alternative point of view? Do you think your readers need this alternative portrayal of life at the queen’s court?

A. A lot of romance has been written about the early Elizabethan days; rather less about the latter part of her reign, when she was a vain, raddled old woman with a penchant for the flattery of young men and a greedy delight in riches. I liked the idea of exploring that woman’s world. Despite her faults, one can only admire from a distance all the incredible achievements of her reign, not least the fact that she survived to die a queen, and sole sovereign of one of the most powerful countries in the known world.

Q. Who is your favorite author? Who are you reading now?

A. I have many favorite authors; it would be impossible to pick any one. At the moment I’m reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

Q. What is next for you? Are you currently working on anything?

A. I’m just beginning a romantic trilogy set in Georgian England toward the end of the eighteenth century.