photo: Louise Clutterbuck
The Silk Factory references the frame-breakers, a key movement within Nottingham’s history. Could you tell us more about them and what sparked your interest in it?
At the turn of the eighteenth century, a Midlands paper stated, “All public disturbances generally commence with the clamour of women”, meaning wives demanding that husbands take action to feed their starving children. The loss of jobs due to the introduction of new machinery meant that many skilled textile workers had to resort to street sweeping to earn a pittance, and in 1811 over half of Nottingham’s weavers were in need of poor relief.
A demonstration in Nottingham’s marketplace was dispersed by a militia, and the crowd resorted to frame-breaking. When men, led by a commander calling himself Ned Ludd, marched on premises, one of their number was shot and killed. Rebellion spread and more than 800 frames were destroyed. My native village had a silk factory at that time and also a huge Georgian garrison that still looms over it today. I began to wonder what would have happened if the weavers in the village had rebelled, with the might of the cavalry right on the doorstep, and the idea for The Silk Factory began to grow.
Lord Byron made his maiden speech in the House of Lords in 1811 in defence of the frame-breakers. Do you consider writing historical fiction to be a form of political address?
My primary purpose in writing is to tell a good story, but a historical novel can also address political issues. When I discovered that the village silk master had been hated for his cruelty, the character of Septimus Fowler, the ultimate laissez-faire capitalist, was born. He is a man so obsessed with building his business that he plans to farm silkworms (despite the unsuitable climate) and import sophisticated looms so that he can sack his workers and replace them with paupers for whom he will only have to provide bread and slops.
So your approach is imagination grounded in historical facts…
I began by imagining the events that might have taken place at the silk factory and wonder what spirits might haunt it. Two stories – of a modern heroine, Rosie, who lives in the silk factory and witnesses the appearance of a strange lost child, and of a silk-weaving family living in desperate times – started to thread together in my mind.
The novel presents a multi-faceted perspective on the frame-breakers movement – from the factory owners, to the law and the workers themselves. What resources did you use in order to project such a vivid representation of factory life?
I read widely on the process of silk weaving and the prevalent social conditions. I particularly like to read first-hand historical accounts, which are rich in detail and help to fix the idiom of the time in my mind. I was also able to visit Derby Silk Mill and the Whitchurch silk factory, where I examined the looms and other machines and gained some hands-on experience.
The novel’s characters are highly empathetic. Are any based on these first-hand accounts?
Most of the characters are the products of my imagination, although their occupations and experiences have been gathered from multiple historical sources. The Fiddement family are orphans trying to make ends meet: Effie, a snowdrop picker; Tobias, a drawboy; and Beulah, who is only nine years old, a bobbin winder at the silk factory.
Septimus Fowler, however, is loosely based on James England, the original village silk master who was accused of many “atrocious felonies” and absconded with a price of ten guineas on his head.
photo: Louise Clutterbuck
Who is your favourite character in The Silk Factory?
I have a special affection for both Rosie and Effie, as they are both women battling against the odds to keep their families together, and I greatly enjoyed creating a real villain in Septimus Fowler. I think my favourite character has to be Beulah. Caught up in a dark world of rebellion and revenge, she has to put away her childhood and draw on all her spirit to protect those she loves.
The book is structured around a split narrative, alternating between the nineteenth century and present day. Did you find this a challenge to write?
It was, but a dual narrative lent itself to my desire to explore the different ways in which people can feel haunted by the past. The present day heroine, Rosie, recently bereaved and confused by the discovery of a traumatic family secret, is haunted by her memories. The silk factory’s sinister reputation is an expression of the community’s shadowy, common memory of wrongs committed there long ago. The two stories are woven together and it’s not until the end that the reader sees how they are inextricably connected.
The Silk Factory retains an acute sense of place throughout, rooted in the heart of the Midlands. What is the significance of the area to you and how does it impact your writing?
I was brought up on a farm in the heart of the Midlands, which I think gave me the strong awareness of the natural world that is reflected in my writing. For me, place is a great inspiration and I like to visit and explore the settings I use. When I wrote The Poet’s Wife, about the Northamptonshire poet John Clare, I found out that he wrote in the fields leaning on the crown of his hat. This idea really appealed to me and so, rather better equipped with a sturdy notebook, I wrote some of The Silk Factory in the shadow of the garrison, among the looms of a silk factory, and in a frosty wood where the snowdrop pickers used to work.
Your previous novels are also historical fiction. What draws you to this particular genre?
I am a historical fiction writer by coincidence rather than intent. The ideas come first and it just so happens that those ideas have been set in the past. Because of this, unlike many historical novelists who specialise in one era, my novels are set in different periods: A Mile of River is set in the Midlands drought of 1976, The Silk Factory and The Poet’s Wife thirty years apart in the nineteenth century, and The Moon Field in the first world war. Moving around in time involves a great deal of research, but I find the ways that people lived in the past and the attitudes and beliefs that they held endlessly fascinating, so I enjoy each new period that I explore.
The Silk Factory is published by Borough Press, £7.19. Tune in to NGDigital and online at LeftLion to hear an interview with Judith on the March WriteLion podcast.
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