The Storyteller's Daughter

The Storyteller's Daughter

Meg May can't remember anything about her early childhood but her cookery-obsessed, fairytale-telling mother has filled her in on all the important details. Meg knows that her father was a French chef who died in a tragic pastry-making accident; that as a premature baby she was put on a sunny windowsill to ripen; and that the scar on her cheek was the result of a nasty nip from one of her mother's crab cakes.

But, at eight years old, Meg rebels against this fictional life and decides there and then to turn her back on the world of stories, determined to let logic rule every thought and deed.

Now on the verge of a respected scientific career with a scientist boyfriend who believes only in facts, Meg is called home. Her mother is ill and as Meg spends one last beautiful summer baking, gardening and talking with her mother, rediscovering what's important, she longs to know the reality of her life-but Meg may not discover the truth in time.

A poignant, funny and heart-warming novel of mothers and daughters, families and secrets, this is a book to lose-and find yourself-in.


Marina Goodin studied English Literature and French at the University of Kent and then trained as a teacher and as a counsellor. She now works at University College, London and also volunteers as a counsellor for a mental health charity. The Storyteller's Daughter is her first novel and was published under the title Nutmeg in the UK. Maria lives in Hertfordshire with her husband, son and cat.





The Storyteller's Daughter
Allen and Unwin
Author: Marina Goodin
ISBN: 9781743312865
Price: $27.99

Interview with Marina Goodin

Question: What inspired you to tell the story of The Storyteller's Daughter?

Marina Goodin: The book was based on a short story I wrote which won a writing competition. It was winning the competition that gave me the confidence to have a go at writing a novel, and it also made approaching the enormous task of novel writing much less daunting because I already had a structure to work from.


Question: Who did you write The Storyteller's Daughter for?

Marina Goodin: For myself. I wrote it to fulfil an ambition to have a novel published, but writing it actually turned out to be quite therapeutic as well. I wrote the book when I was in my final year of training to be a counsellor, when I was reflecting a lot on my life and doing a lot of soul searching as part of the course. I didn't realise how much of the story relates to my own life until the book was finished. It was like an unconscious outpouring of my experiences.


Question: What was the best thing about creating the character of Meg?

Marina Goodin: Meg was a very fun character to write because she's so extreme. I could have fun with her because her need to be rational and logical is so desperate that it results in actions and behaviours that seem absurd and comical, even though that need is actually coming from somewhere very painful within her.


Question: What do you hope readers take away from The Storyteller's Daughter?

Marina Goodin: There is a line in the book that I think about often, where Meg is reflecting on the nature of time. She wants time to stop because she knows her mother will soon be gone, but of course her attempts are futile, and she describes time as slipping through her fingers like sand. This line often pops into my head at the end of the day. One more day gone, my children one day older, a day I will never get back. It sounds sad, and it is a bit, but it's also important because there is no rewinding the clock in life. Someone who reviewed my book said it made them think about what was important in life, and if people take that away from the book that feels like quite an achievement.


Question: Are you currently working on another book?

Marina Goodin: Not at the moment. I'm keen to get started on my next book, but having had two children in the last two years I generally count myself lucky if I find time to finish a cup of tea! I definitely want to write another book in the near future though.