Reintroducing is our blog series which shines a light on Team Mushens books from years past. This week, we’re looking back at Anna Mazzola’s The Unseeing (2016) – and looking forward to Anna’s fourth historical fiction book, The House of Whispers, publishing on 6th April. You can find out more about The House of Whispers and find pre-order links on Anna’s website.

‘Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence.

Even the things you think you know.’

Set in London in 1837, The Unseeing tells the story of Sarah Gale, a seamstress, nurse and mother, sentenced to death for her role in the murder of Hannah Brown on the eve of her wedding.

After Sarah petitions for mercy, Edmund Fleetwood is appointed to investigate and consider whether justice has been done. Idealistic, but struggling with his own demons, Edmund is determined to seek out the truth. Yet Sarah, despite protesting her innocence, refuses to add anything to the evidence given in court: the evidence which convicted her. Edmund knows she’s hiding something, but needs to discover just why she’s maintaining her silence. For how can it be that someone would willingly go to their own death?

Praise for The Unseeing…

“A twisting tale of family secrets and unacknowledged desires. Intricately plotted and extremely convincing in its evocation of the everyday realities of 1830s London, this is a fine first novel” - The Sunday Times

“[A] sizzling first novel...the characters - cleverly and sympathetically imagined - are the engine of the story” - The Times

“Tragic, terrifying and authentic” - Woman & Home

“With this intricately woven tale of trust, self-trust and deceit, Anna Mazzola brings a gritty realism to Victorian London. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted, this is a stunning debut, ranked amongst the best” - Manda Scott

“I can't remember the last time a book gave me such pure, unalloyed pleasure... I can't imagine reading another new novel, and certainly not a debut, as thrilling and moving as this one for the rest of 2016” - Irish Independent

“Every now and then a debut novel comes along that stands out from the crowd... Mazzola's prose is wonderful and the characters are complex and convincing... If you like your historical crime beautifully written, intelligent and genuinely moving, this is one for you” - Historia

“The Unseeing engulfs you in a heady, addictive fog from the very start” - Grazia

“Set in a vividly-imagined Victorian London - from the seamy horrors of Newgate Gaol to the bloated inns of court - this is a wonderful combination of a thrilling mystery and a perfectly depicted period piece. A brilliant debut” - Sunday Mirror

“Intricately plotted and convincing in its portrait of the gritty, everyday realities of early Victorian London, The Unseeing makes for a darkly pleasurable read” - BBC History Magazine

“[An] expertly crafted novel... Crammed with authentic descriptions and characters, and with a fascinating and compulsive plot, this is a thrilling debut” - Heat

Could you talk about what THE UNSEEING meant to your writing career, and how it feels to have your fourth historical fiction novel published soon? 

When The Unseeing was published, I suspect I felt much as most debut writers do: simultaneously delighted and overwhelmed and slightly bewildered by the publication process. I’d been working on the draft manuscript for over two years by the time I was lucky enough to sign up with Juliet, and I think it was about three and a half years by the time the novel came out, so it was a lot of time and hope to pin on one book. Publishing is, as I was to find out, a business and, even though the book had sold at auction and was well reviewed, it didn’t get the push I’d hoped for or the success I’d dreamed of, so it was a rather anti-climactic experience. That said, I’m still fond of The Unseeing and still think about the main character, Sarah Gale.  

I’m genuinely thrilled to be still in the game all these years later, particularly now that I understand how tough the market is. I’ve been very lucky to have an agent who stood by me and worked out how to reposition me, and I think Orion (my publisher for my third and fourth books) are doing a brilliant job of getting my novels to a wider audience. I love working with my editor, Charlotte Mursell, and with the Orion crew, as well as all the Mushens Entertainment team. People say writing is a lonely business, but it doesn’t feel like that for me. I’ve also made lots of writing friends along the way, and their support and wisdom has been invaluable in navigating the publishing world.   

How has your approach to researching and writing historical fiction changed since your debut? 

As you write, you learn to understand yourself as a writer and to work out what your foibles are. I now know what I find difficult and where I’ll decide I want to trash the book (it’s at about 30,000 words in, and then again at about the 60,000 mark). I know that I need to have at least two clear hours without interruptions to achieve anything meaningful on a first draft. I know that it will need to be redrafted several times, and that every time I receive my edits I will think for two days that they’re impossible, and then I’ll work out what to do. 

Because of deadlines, I’ve had to make the writing process more streamlined. No more spending months down a research rabbit hole. I have to get on and write the book. I also plan a lot more thoroughly than I did for my debut, and do much more work on trying to understand what’s propelling the novel along and what arcs my characters are following. For the past few months I’ve been a writing coach for The Novelry (where I work with fellow Mushens Entertainment writers Katie Khan, Krystle Zara Appiah, and LR Lam), which gets me thinking a lot more about structure and writing a killer hook.  

Are there any highlights you can remember from the publication process of THE UNSEEING? 

The highlight was, I think, my launch party. I’d been so nervous about it and whether people would come, but they all did and celebrated with me, and I drank too much and got black pen all over my red dress while signing books. (Never use permanent pen at your launch party is my top tip.)   

The book won an Edgar Award the US, meaning I received the china head of Edgar Allan Poe in the post. Definitely something to remember.  

You work as a lawyer, and it was announced last September that you will be writing legal thrillers alongside your historical fiction. How has your legal background influenced your fiction, and how do you feel about ‘debuting’ as a thriller writer? 

I’m so excited to be a debut again. I’m hoping to be a debut at least five times over the course of my career. I even get a new name! The Inner Circle was inspired and fuelled by many years working in the world of legal aid and human rights, and also by my years within the Government Legal Service. I obviously haven’t used any real cases or real people, and the mystery at the centre is some way from my real work, but I’m hoping that my experience will lend the book authenticity as well as anger!