“Please sir, can I have some more Dickens?” In this episode, author Kathy George discusses her latest novel, The Scent of Oranges – a retelling of the classic Dickens story Oliver Twist from the perspective of character Nancy. Kathy shares her love for gothic literature and why she chose this story to rewrite.

00:00 Introduction
04:46 Nat Newman’s writing tip: Character milestones
08:36 WIN! The Hidden Hand by Stella Rimington
10:30 Word of the week: ‘Susurrous’
13:02 Writer in residence: Kathy George
16:25 Getting the narrative voice right
22:22 Researching Nancy’s character
24:51 Kathy’s love for gothic literature
25:53 Understanding what “gothic” means
28:39 Thoughts on Dickens' female characters
30:24 On fleshing out Nancy's story
33:01 Retelling classic stories
36:48 Writing process and discipline
40:26 Kathy’s advice for aspiring writers
44:35 Final thoughts

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WRITER 645: Kathy George on her classic Dickens retelling, 'The Scent of Oranges'