Caroline Beecham grew up at the English seaside and relocated to Australia to continue her career as a writer and producer in film and television. She has worked on a documentary about Princess Diana lookalikes, a series about journeys to the ends of the earth, as well as a feature film about finding the end of the rainbow. Caroline decided on a new way of storytelling and studied the craft of novel writing at the Faber Academy in 2012. She has an MA in Film & Television and a MA in Creative Writing and lives with her husband and two sons by Sydney harbour. Caroline joins us today to share her five most influential books.
Maggie's Kitchen is Caroline's first published novel and is published by Allen & Unwin, RRP $29.99. You can buy the book here.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
I don’t remember being particularly moralistic as a child but I do remember feeling very strongly about the social injustice of poor Charlie Bucket. Strangely, I did love the idea that the whole family lived together and wasn’t in the least bit concerned that all the grandparents shared a bed; my ten-year old self knew this was completely practical and was relieved that love triumphed over poverty! And what about those revolting children Violet, Veruca, Mike and Augustus; who wouldn’t be pleased at their demise? It wasn’t just the characters; I was there, eating the peppermint grass, lying on my belly drinking out of the chocolate river. After this book anything seemed possible and there were no limits to the imagination…
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Although I fell in love with Heathcliff as a teenager, it was Tess that made the strongest impression on me. Apart from Shakespeare and Chaucer, it was one of the first books we analysed at school and the experience of exploring the text, its characters, themes and symbolism, left a lasting impression. I realise looking back that the deeper meanings I look for in film and books were being distilled then and are part of my subconscious. As a teenager, its likely I wasn’t just responding to the powerful imagery of the landscape, but more to the tragedy and the suppressed sexuality!
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende’s books introduced me to a new form of writing, magic realism, which was totally compelling. I quickly fell in love with her style, soon realising that it was escapism but that it was also based on real experience and dealt with very real issues. The appeal of ‘Eva Luna’ is the way it blends Eva’s very personal story of resilience and growth with the epic story of a society transforming. This book showed me how the voice of the author can create characters that make such a lasting impression.
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
I know many people found this book quite unsettling but I was completely absorbed by it and found the way that the sense of smell was used to explore Grenouille’s emotions really extraordinary. For me it was actually the juxtaposition of his immorality with the delicateness of his sense that made it so appealing. I tried to get the film rights (and soon discovered that many others had too) but it has now been made into a film. It seemed a great challenge to translate the book into a visual medium given the success of the olfactory appeal in the written word. I’m quite surprised that there hasn’t been more books derivative of this one, exploring worlds through one particular sense, but it made me realise what is possible from the unexpected.
The Girl With The Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
‘The Girl With The Pearl Earring’ influenced me because it showed the potential that our history holds for creating new stories. When I was younger I thought the past was in the past and didn’t realise the power it had to show us things, or that its characters and events were so relatable when given a new lease of life in fiction. It showed me the opportunities that historical fiction held; the power of the past to teach us things, how in the right hands the stories can be relevant and entertaining, and also how satisfying it can be to rediscover lesser known parts of our history like the British Restaurants during the Second World War.
