Between the 18th and 19th centuries, Scotland experienced a drastic event known as the Scottish or Highland Clearances. It involved the forceful expulsion of inhabitants from the western islands and Highlands to make room for sheep rearing. This historical event sets the background for “Clear”, a novel by Carys Davies, an author of Welsh origin based in Edinburgh.
The plot unravels in the year 1843 on an isolated Scottish island where Ivar, the only resident, lives. In a desperate pursuit of money, a church minister, John, embarks on a journey to the island with an assignment to evict Ivar. John, however, tumbles off a cliff only to be cared for by Ivar for several weeks. Concurrently, Mary, John’s wife, is resolute to create a new life not bound or confined by societal or religious norms.
When asked about the source of inspiration for her book about the Clearances, Davies recounts an experience over a decade ago. During a rather gloomy winter’s afternoon in the Scottish national library, in her regular reading spot by the dictionaries, she discovered a dictionary of a language unfamiliar to her. She was immediately captivated by this language, which she later unearthed as Norn, an ancient Norse dialect, predominant in Orkney and Shetland. The dialect started to fade from around the mid-15th century as the islands shifted hands from the Danish king to Scotland and was gradually replaced by Scots.
In the span of ten years, the dictionary became an integral part of my life, continuously sparking my curiosity with various words and definitions. It prompted me to visualise an island and eventually, its lone occupant who spoke an ancient Norse language. Although these words had died out by the 1890s, the idea of a solitary dweller on a remote island speaking this language in the mid-1850s didn’t seem far fetched to me.
This theory was cemented when I acquired knowledge about the Scottish Clearances, the Highland Clearances, and I realised that this is what Ivar was going through. However, a vital question arose, who was the one evicting Ivar?
A significant societal change happening concurrently in Scotland was the division in the Scottish church in 1843. A third of all Scottish ministers departed from the official church to inaugurate the new Free Church. This transition rendered many ministers impoverished instantly. My character, Minister John Ferguson, developed from this historical fact, and the story began to align itself.
The novel has been crafted beautifully, possessing a literary style and an Edgar Allan Poe-like pulse that delivers the suspense of a thriller. Regardless of its mid-19th century setting, the book explores issues relevant today such as housing, dispossession, and loneliness. In my previous novel, “West”, I touched upon the theme of Native Americans being driven out by settlers. This concept of dispossession and land theft occupied my thoughts.
The solitude experienced by John and Ivar on the island is a poignant reminder of the isolation felt during the pandemic. My perception toward my book is inevitably shaped by the pandemic. It intensified the craving for a physical connection, and I desired to encapsulate that feeling in my writing.
John Ferguson becomes a conduit through which she delves into various aspects of religion and faith, giving particular attention to the concept of providence, largely respected at that time. “The belief in providence, the notion of an unalterable fate, I find distressing. Indeed, my novels often centre around a small bunch of characters who face up their personal realisation against large overriding forces. I’ve recently returned to reading ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’, a book which at one juncture, describes Calvinism as a grim jest once universally accepted.”
Davies emphasises that her intent wasn’t to cast aspersions at the church. She identifies as a grown up Methodist and the spouse of a Quaker. “While I don’t subscribe to religious beliefs or hold a faith in God, I find religion, morality, affection, consciousness, and their intersecting complexities quite intriguing. It’s quite a facile task deriding people for holding religious beliefs. I spent my 30s and 40s frequently attending Quaker meetings, drawn in by their compassionate, kind and open-minded stance on religion. Majority of attendees were aware of my lack of belief in God, and it didn’t bother them. What outweighed this was their dedication to standing up for social justice and advocating for society’s vulnerable, a stance I found quite appealing.”
Moving from John and Ivar, Clear also introduces a delightfully self-reliant and pragmatic female character, Mary, John’s spouse. “I am fond of Mary’s capacity to adapt, given the constraints of her era. While I love creating historically-based female characters, I’m cautious not to render them excessively independent. I can recall a literary festival for my debut book ‘West’ where a fiercely independent 10-year-old girl named Bess is one of the characters. An audience member quizzed me if I could’ve assigned Bess with more power. Reflecting on the fact that she’s a 10-year-old in 1812, I couldn’t possibly have done so. Regardless, in my view, Bess possesses a considerable amount of influence – she drags a corpse, buries it, and doesn’t disclose this to anyone.”
Carys Davies, originally from Wales, lived in the United States for over a decade and later relocated to Edinburgh, embracing the feeling of being somewhat an outsider since moving away from Wales. She acknowledged an enjoyment of maintaining a slight geographic distance from her roots, which contributes to her affinity for writing historical fiction. This genre allows her an imaginative separation from her subjects which she describes as essential.
Davies has penned three novels, including the latest title, “Clear”, published by Granta, coupled with two anthologies of short stories. Her notable accomplishments in literature include securing the Wales Book Of The Year, The Sunday Times 2020 Novel Of The Year and the international accolade of the Frank O’Connor Short Story Award for “The Redemption of Galen Pike”. Remarkably, she only embarked on her journey in fiction writing in her mid-thirties.
Having lived in the U.S with her four children, and working freelance as a journalist evidently took a toll on her. Inspiration arrived in the form of renowned American short story writers like Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, Lorrie Moore, and Amy Bloom. It was their work that served as catalysts to propel her into trying her hand in writing. However, it wasn’t until her youngest child had left the house that she was finally able to commit to composing her first novel citing the need for sustained concentration, patience, and perseverance as it’s not something you can do in small fragments.
In times of stagnation, Davies turns to hobbies like gardening and knitting, reassuring tasks that never fail to yield tangible results. She finds kinship with Charlotte Brontë, who found solace in cleaning when writing proved too daunting. Davies admits she has been known to turn to window washing when a novel she’s working on becomes particularly challenging.