That’s an incredibly hard one to answer! I love learning new words, and I particularly love anything that’s onomatopoeic.

And I’d love to say hello to Roald Dahl’s BFG. Dickens’ Miss Havisham would be a fabulous (if rather frightening) character to spend time with. The teenaged me had a huge crush on Bronte’s Edward Rochester – despite his numerous and rather worrying flaws that I see much more clearly, now! So him, perhaps. Is there a fictional character you’d like to meet and why? All this was quite overwhelming! But ultimately I felt that all I could do was treat Eponine with tenderness and deep affection, and to stay as faithful to the novel as I could. We all have our own idea of what a character looks like, sounds like or behaves: instinctively, I think, we can be protective of them! I knew who my Eponine was, but would she be other peoples’? I’m also aware that Les Mis has an extraordinary following and fan base it has inspired passion in so many, and fierce loyalty. The most intimidating part of the project was the idea that I might create an Eponine that others wouldn’t like – that she might not seem like their Eponine, the one they’d always imagined and loved from the book, musical or play. What were the challenges of writing a book around a character that was already so established and well known? It has been a joy to spend time with her, and finally give her a voice. She’s complex, feisty, flawed, selfless – and yet she is only peripheral in Hugo’s tale. I accepted very quickly – because of all the characters in Les Mis, it’s always been Eponine who I’ve found the most intriguing.

But as soon as the idea was shared with me, I loved it. The idea was not, in fact, my own: I was approached by Chicken House and asked if I’d consider writing of Eponine for them. Can you tell us a little about A Little in Love and how the idea originated?Ī Little In Love is the tale of Eponine from Les Miserables – an account of her childhood, and of her own role in the events of Hugo’s classic book. Hello Susan, thank you so much for joining us.

Oystercatchers by Susan Fletcher