Author Caroline Madden on the long but ultimately successful journey to publication of her delightful new novel, The Marriage Vendetta.
Almost twenty years ago, I was looking for an idea for a historical fiction novel and I stumbled across the story of the 18th century English soprano, Eliza Linley. Eliza was extraordinarily talented, even performing for royalty as a child. However, after she absconded to France with a penniless young Irishman called Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and then married him, he banned her from returning to the stage even though they desperately needed money.
Eliza’s story captivated me and wouldn’t let go. I couldn’t explain why, but I felt compelled to bring it to life. The problem? No matter what way I came at it over the following decade (yes, decade!), and I came at it many, many ways, there was always something missing. I just couldn’t figure out what.
First, I wrote it as a historical novel called The Gentleman’s Agreement, then did endless redrafting, and in 2012 I got a UK literary agent and thought I’d made it. Just as I went on maternity leave with my first baby, The Gentleman’s Agreement went out on submission to publishers. Everything seemed to be falling into place.
But as I cuddled and nursed my gorgeous new-born baby, editors started to get back to my agent: they had lovely things to say about my writing but the message was always pretty much the same: the book was just not quite grabbing them enough, so they’d have to pass. I was lucky to have my little girl to distract me, but it was tough nonetheless. This was not part of the plan.
I didn’t know then what I know now: that most literary agents do not have anything near a 100% hit rate with the books they send out on submission. From what I’ve been able to find out, it’s closer to three out of every five books, though of course this differs by agent. Sometimes it’s a much lower success rate. If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have got my hopes up so high, and then been so crushed.
I struggled back into the saddle and rewrote the book, but in the end my agent concluded that the story wasn’t salvageable because the ending was just too sad. Looking back, she wasn’t wrong: Eliza’s husband Richard had many affairs, they grew increasingly estranged, and she died at just 37. It was a tragic story, no doubt about it.
But I wasn’t ready to give up on Eliza, so I parted ways (amicably) with my agent and managed to get a new agent who was happy to represent my rewritten book. I allowed my hopes to rise again. And as I was getting ready for my second baby to be born, my book was sent on its second foray out into the world. But once more, the rejections began to trickle in. After a few weeks it was clear that Eliza’s story had died on submission. Again.
Discouraging as this was, I forged on, wrote a whole new novel and sent it to my agent. He never read it. Worse, he stopped responding to my emails. Eventually, after many months, I took the hint and moved on.
It was a very low point. After more than a decade of trying to get published (while also freelancing as a journalist, running children’s writing classes and raising my two babies), I had nothing to show for my efforts but a pile of rejections and two unpublished novels. Why was I doing this to myself? I’d come across Eliza’s story in my mid-twenties and now I was staring at 40. Any sane person would cut their losses and move on.
But after a bit (okay, a lot) of wallowing, I made a decision: I wouldn’t quit, but I needed to get better. Much better. I ordered every book on the craft of writing that I could find and started to apply the advice. I also transported Eliza and Richard to modern-day Dublin, changed Eliza from a soprano to a pianist for plot purposes, and infused as much dark humour as possible (oh, and a smidge of female rage).
I began to get up at 5am to write before home-schooling my children each day. By the time the pandemic was over, The Marriage Vendetta was complete. And to my delight, fictional Eliza had rejected the traditional happy ending that I’d planned for her in favour of something braver and more fulfilling. I felt instinctively that this new version of her story was it. This time around, however, I struggled to get an agent. As time went on, I began to question whether trying to get published was even worth it.
But then a writing friend told me about a brilliant UK editor who was moving into agenting in the US: her name was Kesia Lupo and she was actively looking for new clients. I decided to roll the dice one last time. And thank goodness I did. Out of a slushpile of over 5,000 submissions, Kesia picked my book and offered to represent me. And in February 2024, she sent it out on submission. I braced myself for the inevitable onslaught of rejections.
But instead of rejections, expressions of interest started pouring in from publishers across Ireland, the UK and the US. It was surreal. I had zoom call after zoom call with editors who loved Eliza’s voice. In the end, Bonnier bought the Irish/UK rights in a pre-emptive bid, and the US rights sold at auction to HarperCollins. Even more crazily, threedifferent film agencies across New York and LA somehow heard about The Marriage Vendetta and wanted to represent it.
And now finally, almost twenty years after I first read about Eliza, her story is coming back to life with the publication of The Marriage Vendetta on April 24th. I still don’t know exactly why her story grabbed me and refused to let go, but I’m so glad it did, and I hope I’ve written an ending that would have made the real Eliza happy.
(c) Caroline Madden
About The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden:
Eliza’s playwright husband Richard Sheridan has accepted the career opportunity of a lifetime: running a prestigious theatre in Dublin. Eliza plays the role of the supportive wife – uprooting their daughter Mara, relocating from England to Dublin, running the household and managing Richard’s paperwork – but inside, she’s burning with resentment.
Eliza was once a globe-trotting classical pianist; now, her time is consumed by the dramas of the judgmental ‘momfluencers’ at the café across from Mara’s school, where she spends hours anxiously watching her lonely daughter during playtimes.
When she’s sent a suggestive photo of Richard with another woman, it’s the last straw. She turns to mysterious marriage therapist Ellen Early for help. But Eliza has no idea just how far Ms. Early is willing to go to get results …
The Marriage Vendetta offers the quirky relatable tone of How to Kill Your Family crossed with wry wit of Sorrow and Bliss. There’s a touch of BBC’s Motherland in the portrayal of parental schoolyard politics – and the dark comedy of Bad Sisters.
Order your copy of The Marriage Vendetta online here.
And read previous Meet the Author articles on Writing.ie here.
