Change & Continuity

Maplecroft: A Heartbreakingly Beautiful Historical Romance Novel of Love and Betrayal, Based on a True Story

Aug 01, 2024

In preparation for an upcoming author talk on Maplecroft, I’ve been watching an old interview with my Mum where I ask her about my great-grandparents, Austin and Errington. At the time of the interview, I am undertaking a Graduate Certificate in Arts (Creative Writing) and have two small children. My eldest must be at care, but my middle child (now eight years old) is there with us. Just a baby, he can be heard in the background. Becoming fussy, my little one is soon seated upon my mother’s lap, munching on a Cruskit, as I carry on the interview.

As I watch this interview from all those years ago, I find myself watching my son, amazed by the way the distance of time changes what we notice; what we focus on. I delight in the way this video captures so perfectly a snapshot of how life was; how the vision of my baby munching away occupies my mind more fully now. He was once so small!

I think too of what has remained the same. Mine, and my mother’s passion for this quiet love story. The telling of family lore. Writing alongside motherhood — though the demands are different.

In the interview, I ask my mother whether she believes using the love letters of Austin and Errington is honouring them or exploiting them. Her answer, delighting my creative writing tutor when I share it in my non-fiction ‘life writing’ piece.

‘Whoa. Whoa. Both. Both. Is that possible?’ Mum says. ‘I think both, in that these letters have been left…For some reason or another, Austin kept all these letters and photographs intact. So, I can justify it in that way, perhaps he wants their story told.’