Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Ferdia Lennon Interview, plus links to author biography, book summaries, excerpts and reviews

Ferdia Lennon

Ferdia Lennon

How to pronounce Ferdia Lennon: FUR-dee-ah LEN-non

An interview with Ferdia Lennon

The author shares the Plutarch passage that inspired Glorious Exploits

What was your writing process like? Did you have a writing routine or any regular rituals?

Ideally, I'm a morning writer and like to start first thing when I get up, before email or really anything else. Often, during the writing Glorious Exploits and my writing life in general, that wasn't always possible, and I would just write whenever I could. Ultimately, it doesn't matter when, as long as you're writing.

How did you first come up with the idea for the book?

The inspiration was from a passage in Plutarch's Lives where we learn that Athenian prisoners of war, who had tried and failed to conquer the Sicilian city of Syracuse, survived because their captors would give food and wine in exchange for quotes from Euripides' plays. My novel uses this as its starting point and follows two unemployed, theatre-obsessed Syracusan potters who decide to put on Medea with an all-star cast of Athenian prisoners.

If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be and why?

Maybe Wilkins Micawber from David Copperfield. I'm guessing I would have to pick up the bill, but it would be a very entertaining meal.

If you were a character in a novel, what would be your signature quirk or catchphrase?

I think, 'Buy my book.' has a nice ring to it.

What fictional world would you want to live in, and how would you survive or thrive there?

The fifth-century Athens of Mary Renault's The Last of The Wine is a very compelling place filled with the greatest hits of classical Athenian history. As novels didn't exist back then, perhaps I would try my hand at playwriting.

What's the weirdest talent or skill you have that not many people know about?

When I was researching my next novel, there was a section involving memory techniques used in the Middle Ages, and whether for research or procrastination, I learnt them and could memorise a shuffled deck of cards, which I have assured my wife is a very useful skill.

What's your go-to karaoke song, and how well do you perform it?

The Beatles' 'Twist and Shout' and not very well. There's another Lennon who does it a bit better.

Where is your happy place, and why?

There's a beautiful park near our old neighbourhood in Paris called Parc de Buttes Chaumont. It was the only green space my wife and I could access during the pandemic, and as it was built around what was once an old limestone quarry, I'd visit there when I was writing Glorious Exploits if I needed inspiration for the quarry scenes. When our son was born, we'd go for walks there most days, and we had a favourite spot, so there are many happy memories there.

Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Books by this Author

Books by Ferdia Lennon at BookBrowse
Glorious Exploits jacket
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Ferdia Lennon but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose readalikes

  • M.T. Anderson

    M.T. Anderson

    M.T. ANDERSON is the New York Times bestselling author of Feed, a National Book Award finalist and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, winner of the ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Glorious Exploits

    Try:
    Nicked
    by M.T. Anderson

  • Pat Barker

    Pat Barker

    Par Barker is the author of Union Street, Blow Your House Down, Liza's England, The Man Who Wasn't There, the Regeneration trilogy (Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, and The Ghost Road, which won the Booker Prize), Another ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Glorious Exploits

    Try:
    The Women of Troy
    by Pat Barker

We recommend 5 similar authors

View all 5 Read-Alikes

Non-members can see 2 results. Become a member
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.