A Q&A WITH VICTORIA CORNWALL
1. What first inspired you to tell Elsa’s story set in the final months of the war?
I once saw a black and white photograph of German civilians, (mainly women, children and the elderly), fleeing for their lives from the advancing Russian Army. It was the perfect setting to tell Elsa’s story. How had her life brought her to this moment? How would she survive it? And how would she heal and learn from it?
2. What kind of research was most important to you when shaping the 1945 setting?
The research that provides factual historical information is always important to me, but I also needed to know the thoughts and experiences of the people who lived through it. I read and listened to many interviews and memoirs in order to see it through their eyes.
3. How did you balance the brutality of war with moments of tenderness and hope?
I saw the war as the antagonist to Sam and Elsa’s growing relationship. Sometimes the antagonist is winning, sometimes it is defeated . . . and sometimes it returns with a vengeance. Sam and Elsa’s developing love affair brings them hope for humanity and eventually protects them from the hate that is so often felt in the wake of a war.
4. If Elsa could speak to her younger self at the beginning of the war, what would she say?
I think she would say, ‘Never stop questioning, Elsa, and if it doesn’t feel right or fair, then it probably isn’t and should be stopped.’
5. What message do you most hope readers take away from Elsa and Sam’s journey?
That we must learn from the past so we don’t repeat it; that we should judge a person by their character and not their race, ability or appearance; and that love can bloom in the most inhospitable setting.