Yahoo Finance The books that shaped me: Milly Johnson
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 Milly Johnson, a Sunday Times Top 5 bestselling author, with 17 novels to her name and millions of copies sold.
How have books impacted your life?
I cannot remember a time before I read. And, from a young age, I wanted to be the person writing stories that made others fall into my imaginary worlds. Books have educated me, helped me sleep, taken my mind away from unpleasant situations. They have informed me, guided me through life’s problems and entertained me. Those of us who love books are blessed, I think.
The childhood book that’s stayed with you...
I once found Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie in a jumble sale – my first ‘grown up’ book. My introduction to her wonderful world and one that I’ve read so many times since because it doesn’t matter that I remember whodunnit, the fascination for me is in how the plot unfolds. That book taught me that it was possible to read a book first for pleasure, and then again for analysis, to see how it had been put together. Every Christmas I read Agatha Christie books because they plunge me into a safe and comforting place (ironic then that they are full of murders). Even though I write romantic fiction, my plots can be every bit as intricate as any crime novel. I have absorbed that fascination for laying down clues for my readers as to where my stories are heading. It’s an art form. Too few clues and the surprise at the end is too out of the blue and the reader feels cheated that they have had no forewarning of what is around the corner; too many clues and the readers guesses where you are taking them too soon. Agatha got it just right.
Your favourite book of all time...
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. A story of resilience and good values and on the strength of this book, I upped sticks and moved to Haworth to live where this writer resided and had many happy years there. Village life was very different to the town life I was used to and so experiencing it was useful as well as great fun. Jane Eyre has everything for me: a heroine that women can identify with, a hero who is perfectly imperfect, a love rival, a touch of the supernatural, wonderful houses, despair and triumph – and a happy ending. Rochester remains in my top two favourite heroes of all times. Bronte has managed to make him the sexiest man on the planet without necessarily giving him the looks to match – sometimes attractive bests handsome and Rochester smoulders. You can imagine him being fantastic in bed! I read it first when my hormones were cranking up and I think it acquired a special place in my heart because of that, my first innocent passion. It is also full of the most beautiful quotes: "I ask you to pass through life at my side – to be my second self, and best earthly companion". Why isn’t that written into wedding vows?
The book you wish you’d written...
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. Manderley is almost as big a character as Maxim, we never find out the narrator’s name, the title character is dead and gone and yet saturates this book with her toxic personality – just wow on so many levels. This book pulled me into its pages and kept me a willing hostage. I’ve always loved books with great houses as extensions of people, such as Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice and Thornfield in Jane Eyre and Manderley is the most romantic of all of them. This book was also a masterclass in how a character who only ever appears in the dialogue of others can be so powerful. I’ve read every book du Maurier ever wrote on the strength of this one, and have never been disappointed. My Cousin Rachel – was he naïve or she manipulative? Jamaica Inn, exciting with an atypical hero – I like those and quite a few of my heroes aren’t the tall, dark, handsome suited types, but lovable rogues like Jem. I think all the books we read and really love - or hate - leave a mark and direct us as writers to pay a small homage to them, even unconsciously, or to totally avoid duplicating those same mistakes.
The book you wish everyone would read...
I met former MP Alan Johnson at a literary festival last year, where we were both performing, and we became friends on the spot. I’ve always admired him as a straight speaker, but I bought all his four books after that first meeting because I knew I was in for an intelligent and witty read – and I was so right. His first one, This Boy, is the memoirs of his childhood. I was astounded at the poverty he came from which should have served to grind him down and anchor him to a place he would find difficult to rise above. But what was so incredibly impressive about this book was the documented love of his sister, who devoted herself to looking after their ill mother, took on jobs to clear family debts and feed them and then – when only a child herself – fought the authorities to look after Alan single-handedly when their mother died. What a forceful and strong woman and Alan gives her full credit. It was the most inspirational book I’ve read in a long time and a true exercise in how love, devotion and determination can prevail. There are books filled with more derring-do, but for me this book about the extraordinary things ordinary folk can do to change their lot filled me with admiration, without dragging me down into misery in the process. It could make you think that anything is possible.
The book that got you through a hard time...
When I lived in Haworth, my partner then was cheating on me and our relationship ended. I was emotionally adrift and turned to my favourite authors for consolation. I hadn’t read A Raging Calm by Stan Barstow, even though I had read all his others but I picked it up in the bookshop down the Main Street, as if it was meant to be mine. The subject matter wasn’t ideal – a man who has been cheating on his wife – but I gave it a go and I was quickly hooked. I hadn’t read him for a while and became reacquainted with how fabulous an author he was, how he could write so economically and yet conjure up so many emotions. Ironically I used to pop into the local bar every night after work for a coffee to unwind and to sit with a group of people who did the same (it’s a village thing) and never realised until months later that one of my bar friends there – Stan – was THE Stan Barstow. He was such a lovely man and I was able to tell him genuinely how much I loved his books when I realised. A couple of years later he came to my wedding and I introduced him to my friends who studied him at school with me because our English teacher thought he was a god. I never told Stan I was a wannabe writer because I didn’t want him to think I had an ulterior motive in enjoying his joyous company. He moved to Wales and I moved back to Barnsley and when I got my first book deal only then did I write and tell him my secret. We corresponded until he sadly died, but he showed me how powerful words in the right hands are through his books. Maybe it’s because of the northern connection, maybe because he is such a master at his craft or maybe because I knew ‘Stan the Man’ – or all three – that I feel his books are special. Words have magic in them, to make us cry, laugh, enter a different world – one that can take us away from a real one that hurts.
The book that uplifts you...
I can’t tell you how many times I have read Jane Austen’s Persuasion. It comes in at a close second favourite to the book I love most in the world. At school I had the most fabulous English teacher called Miss Taylor who kept me behind one day for writing a load of tripe for my homework about Persuasion. When my excuse was that I thought JA was boring, my teacher told me I was ‘reading her all wrong’. She ripped the scales from my eyes, showed me that Miss Austen was taking the mick out of her characters, in short she was a literary minx. I read her with a new outlook and this book reminds me of my enlightenment. I would have missed the joy in her stories had I not had this fabulous tutor. I would have missed the subtle nuances and biting sarcasm. I would have missed taking to my heart this fabulous story of a woman who is destined for the spinster shelf, reuniting with her lost love and blossoming throughout the book. The love story between Anne and Wentworth is edge-of-the-seat stuff. As readers we can see that he still has feelings for her and are champing at the bit for them both to realise there is still a chance their love can be reignited, stronger than ever. When that moment comes via a letter, it is like a wondrous explosion. It never fails to fill me with pleasure to read this dear familiar book. It is a comfort blanket on my soul when I need it. It fills one with hope that the opportunity bus might come around again if you miss it the first time.
My One True North by Milly Johnson is published 23 July by Simon and Schuster in paperback, £8.99.
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