Doing historical research is a bit like falling down Alice’s rabbit hole – you have no idea where you’re going to end up.  You can go round in circles on the trail of an elusive fact or, as in author Truda Thurai’s case, follow an intriguing hook and end up writing something entirely unexpected.

Truda’s first novel, The Devil Dancers, is set in Ceylon , now known as Sri Lanka, so when she discovered that the country is also referred to within Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood, she was intrigued.  Once on the trail of the connection, however, Truda was sent on another journey entirely and ended up writing a collection of short stories entitled Barley Bread and Cheese.  She kindly dropped by the Magpies nest to explain how it happened…

Hello Truda, please push the twigs aside and make yourself comfortable.  Now…