Children throughout the land will be celebrating today as Jacqueline Wilson publishes her 100th book, Opal Plumstead. Caroline Lindsay finds out more about one of our best-loved writers.
Former children’s Laureate and best-selling author Jacqueline Wilson may be celebrating the publication of her 100th book today but not, she tells me, until the plumber has been round to fix her boiler. It’s this down-to-earth attitude that makes her so approachable and her books so endlessly readable.
Since she published her first novel when she was in her early twenties, Dame Jacqueline Wilson has written 100 books for children aged seven upwards, addressing topics from adoption, divorce and mental illness in a way that makes them approachable and endlessly readable.
“I have a vivid memory of how I felt as a child and although I don’t write autobiographically I adapt these feelings. Life has changed for children these days: they have less freedom and they have much more knowledge at their fingertips. But feelings never change children will always have the same anxieties about family and best friends,” she says.
Now aged 68, she is one of Britain’s most popular authors, selling more than 35 million books in the UK alone, and the publication today of her 100th book Opal Plumstead marks an amazing milestone for this much-loved writer.
“It doesn’t seem quite real,” she admits. “I think I need to find copies of all my books and lay them out on the carpet so that it’s more concrete. It’s a bit of a British thing but I’m reluctant to say: ‘Yaaay, I’m thrilled to bits’ but of course I’m proud.
“It’s funny because for years and years children have been asking me if I’d like to write a 100 books and I always thought that once I had I’d be happy to keel over. But now I’m at that stage, I don’t want to stop and I’ve actually written my 101st The Butterfly Club for slightly younger readers, due out in February and I’m halfway through my 102nd.
Opal Plumstead tells the story of the 14-year-old eponymous heroine whose scholarship and dreams of university are snatched away when her father is sent to prison, and she has to start work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory to support her family.
Set against the backdrop of the First World War, Jacqueline admits that she put her heart and soul into the book. “It’s a long book more than 500 pages and I loved every moment of writing it. I’ve discovered quite late in life that I enjoy writing historical books and I knew I wanted to write another one for my 100th book but rather than do yet another sequel to Hetty Feather, I decided to do something new set in Edwardian times an era with a lot going for it, with the Suffragettes and the First World War,” she explains.
“The name Opal came from a beautiful opal ring I’ve just treated myself to every time I look at the ring I’ll remember my 100th book.”
She can’t quite believe that she is on the countdown to her 70th birthday: “It’s so weird saying these numbers because age is very much a state of mind. I remember a dear friend of mine who was in her 90s saying that she still felt like 30 something and now I know exactly what she meant!” she laughs.
So what is the secret of Jacqueline’s phenomenal success? “I think because I write stories in the first person that children can get into them straightaway,” she says.
“Although I deal with complex issues and I do care about how I write and the vocabulary I use, the books are easy to read and readers find themselves caring about the characters from the start. I simply try to imagine myself into the child’s head and that way you can get the tone right.”
Awarded the DBE in 2008 for services to children’s literacy, she loves getting feedback from her readers and is especially chuffed when she hears from a child who admits they normally find reading boring but loves her books. “That is so incredibly rewarding,” she smiles. “Reading is my passion and to learn that I’ve helped a child to share that passion is wonderful.”
In fact, The Independent remarked that her books “should be prescribed for all cases of reading reluctance”, something she regards as a great compliment. “I think a lot of people make the mistake of encouraging children to read as if they were giving them medicine go on, it’s good for you,” she says. “The secret is to match the subject matter to the child and from the very early years, make reading to your child a cosy time so they associate books with those memories.”
Jacqueline is thrilled that her 100th book, like every book from Tracey Beaker onwards, has been illustrated by Nick Sharratt. “Nick has been fundamental to the success of the books since Tracey Beaker and we’re so lucky that the books have such distinctive covers,” she says.
“Do you remember when you were young, you’d think that all the Blue Peter presenters lived together as one big happy family? Well, a lot of the children I meet think that Nick and I do too, and they’ll sometimes give me a sweet and say: ‘And here’s one for Nick too.’”
Although Jacqueline has to wait in for the plumber today, she was able to celebrate in style earlier in the week. “Random House, the publishers of Opal Plumstead, gave me a fabulous party at The Ritz,” she says. “And although today’s going to be rather domestic, I might put a bottle of something sparkling in the fridge for later!”