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The books that shaped me: C.L. Taylor

Photo credit: Hearst Owned
Photo credit: Hearst Owned

From Good Housekeeping

Welcome to 'The books that shaped me' - a Good Housekeeping series in which authors talk us through the reads that stand out for them. This week, we're hearing from C.L. Taylor, a Sunday Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her books have sold in excess of a million copies and hit the number one spots on Amazon Kindle, Audible, Kobo, iBooks and Google Play. They have been translated into over 25 languages, selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club, and optioned for television.


How have books impacted your life?

As a child of the late seventies and early eighties books were my constant companions. They were my escape, my comfort and my entertainment. We were an army family, stationed in Germany. There was one television channel showing only a couple of hours of children’s programmes each day. The rest of the time I drew, played and read. When I was eight, I suffered a severe asthma attack and ended up in a local hospital for several weeks. Books were my friends when I was unable to communicate with the German children on my ward. Then, when I was ten, and sent to boarding school, reading under the covers with a torch allowed me to escape. Books have been a huge part of my life ever since. They are a salve to life’s stresses, an education, and a joy.

The childhood book that's stayed with you...

The first book, or rather books, I fell in love with was The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton. They transported me to a magical place where strange and unusual characters lived in a tree that led to new worlds. I lived every adventure alongside the children as they explored these wondrous and terrifying lands, urging them on, holding my breath, frantically turning each page. I was so disappointed when the series ended. I wanted it to go on forever. That’s what prompted my desire to become an author. I wanted readers to fall in love with my characters and inhabit my worlds. I wanted to delight and scare them. It seemed to me that writing a book was a strange kind of alchemy and if I tried hard enough, I too could put readers under my spell.

Your favourite book of all time...

My favourite book is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I first read it as a teenager when I read every dystopian novel I could get my hands on. Still at boarding school I could relate to Offred’s feelings of being trapped, of having no control of her life, of her every move being watched and I was utterly invested in her fate. I rooted for her as I’d never rooted for a character before. As an adult I see the book quite differently. It’s a feminist story about women and their role in a world largely ruled by men. It’s also a cautionary tale – this is the world we could inhabit if we don’t stand together as one. My favourite quote is ‘Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.’ Don't let the b**tards grind you down.

The book you wish you'd written...

The book I wish I’d written is After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell. It’s an excellent book on so many levels. In many ways it’s a mystery; all the way through you want to know what Alice saw that lead to her being in a coma. The structure is quite complex, flicking between the past and the present, told by multiple points of view. In less talented hands, it could have been a mess, but it works so beautifully. It’s an incredibly powerful story, emotionally, and when I finished it I felt winded for days. To be able to do that to a reader, to hold them in the palm of your hand over the course of a book and then to close it to deliver a sucker punch they didn’t see coming is an astonishing skill.

The book you wish everyone would read...

The book I wish everyone would read is Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. It’s a book about philosophy, disguised as a mystery novel and, when I read it in my twenties, it had a profound effect on me. I’d always seen philosophy as a dusty, dry subject but in Sophie’s World it became very relatable and it opened my eyes to new ways of looking at, and understanding, life.

The book that got you through a hard time...

The book that got me through a hard time is Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell. At the time I was in a coercive and controlling relationship and, as a lifelong Lisa Jewell fan, I bought the book as soon as it was published. What I didn’t realise was that the sub plot was about an emotionally abusive relationship. I was in denial about quite how unhealthy my own relationship was but, seeing Joy go through something similar was an awakening. When she left her partner, it gave me the strength to walk away from my situation too. When we read books about characters we can relate to, it makes us feel less alone. There’s something very comforting about reading a line an author has written and thinking, ‘I feel like that too.’

The book that uplifts you...

The book that makes me feel happy and uplifted is Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes. It’s about Rachel, a 27-year-old party girl who’s in denial about her drug habit. She’s forced into rehab, largely against her will, and undergoes the most incredible transformation. There are dark moments in the book as she comes to terms with her behaviour but what lifts it into a joyful read is Marian Keyes’ clever way with words and her extraordinary wit. I listened to Rachel’s Holiday during lockdown dog walks and lost count of the number of times people stared at me as I laughed to myself.

Strangers by C.L. Taylor is released in paperback on 1 October.


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