Elly Griffiths Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

Elly Griffiths, author of the Ruth Galloway mysteries set in Norfolk in the East of England, discusses her lead character and the legends of Norfolk country.

On Ruth Galloway:

I don't know where the character of Ruth came from. She really just sprang into my head fully formed and I felt that I knew her – her formidable intelligence, her wry humour, her secret liking for sequins.  Perhaps, though, there are elements in Ruth of my two older sisters – both strong, independent women - one a headteacher, the other an artist. There is also my aunt, who lives in Norfolk and still, at over seventy, teaches Maths, drinks gin and steers her boat along the Norfolk broads (rivers). Ruth is probably a combination of all the strong women in my life – including my mother who first told me the stories of the Norse Gods.


On Norse Legends and Mythology:

The Crossing Places is about layers. Layers of time, history and memory. It is set in Norfolk, an area of Eastern England that has been inhabited for over 6000 years by, variously, Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman settlers. It was also, until 10,000 years ago, physically linked to Scandinavia. Thus, the Norse or Viking influence is strong is Norfolk. Perhaps because of its history, it is also a place steeped in superstition and folklore. Norfolk is famous for its ghosts.

Ruth Galloway, the heroine of The Crossing ...