With ‘The Gentleman’s Gambit,’ Evie Dunmore checkmates her beloved series in a way worthy of the quartet.
The following interview contains spoilers for ‘The Gentleman’s Gambit.’
If finishing a book is considered an achievement, completing a series should automatically earn an author an award, especially when they are able to tie up their tale with a bow worthy of all the characters they created. For Evie Dunmore, author of the beloved 'A League Of Extraordinary Women' series, the challenge lay in page time. Her now concluded quartet of novels can technically be read as standalone stories as each centers around one woman in a Victorian-era friend group. Sure, you may miss some of the brilliantly woven nuances if you choose to forgo Dunmore's published order, but you would likely still find each book enjoyable on its own. The only problem with setting up a sequence that can function in this fashion is that it allows readers to become significantly attached to each of the characters. And thus, when things draw to a close, it makes them expect more than just a typical tale. The final book will be seen as an homage to each book that has come before whilst also needing to maintain a full and flushed-out story for the crowning protagonist. Something Evie does with a grace and wit that would make her four suffragists proud, especially Catriona Campbell, the focus of her latest novel, The Gentleman's Gambit.
The Gentleman's Gambit is the long-awaited tale of Dunmore's Scottish heroine, a neurodivergent academic who has not had a lot of luck in love. In fact, she has sworn off the emotion and pledged to focus on writing her book when she meets Elias Khoury, a recent addition to her father's scholastic circle. The Levantine is, however, not precisely what he seems. He did not make the journey to Oxford to classify ancient artifacts but instead to find a way to get them back to his homeland in the Middle East. When winning Catriona's affection becomes the key to doing so, he makes plans to seduce her. Little does he know, the Scotswoman has set forth on a scientific endeavor of her own of which he is the focal point. Their forced proximity romance quickly becomes something more as they get to know each other over a prolonged game of chess. Once more set against the backdrop of real-world events, this final novel reminds readers why this league of extraordinary women stole their hearts in the first place and teaches one last lesson on courage and the importance of fighting for the things you know are right.
Evie Dunmore spoke with The FMC about the bittersweet nature of ending a series, Catriona’s character growth, the history that inspired the four tales and more.
Congrats on so many things! Congrats on The Gentleman’s Gambit. Congrats on wrapping up a series. Congrats on all the rave reviews. How are you feeling now that Catriona and Elias are out in the world?
It’s the end of a series that's been with me for a long time, so it's bittersweet. I love seeing Catriona and Elias go out into the world. I've worked hard enough on these two. This release also feels like a goodbye since this part of my writing journey has come to an end. I feel joyful, but as we say in German, “with a laughing and a crying eye.”
Yeah. I can understand that. How does finishing a series compare to finishing a singular book?
Finishing this one felt like a bigger deal than finishing the others. It feels more like an end. The book is centered around this particular story, but it's also a small goodbye to all the other characters in the series who have been with me for such a long time. I said to a friend the other day that it feels as if I’m sending them off to unknown lands, and I can't go with them.
When you started with Annabelle’s tale, did you know then that each character was going to get their own story?
Yes and no. When I was writing Annabelle’s story, I already had some ideas for Lucy and for Hattie. But, at that point, the story for Catriona was very vague. Personally, I love reading series. So, when I was writing Annabelle’s story, I realized I would probably also love writing a series. I love getting to hang out with the characters more and dive deeper into the setting. The world starts to feel really familiar when you write this many characters, so it makes sense to stay in that place a bit longer if there are more stories to tell.
How do you think you've grown most as a writer since you first started this series?
I'd like to think that I've managed to dig a bit deeper beneath the surface. I'm not referring to a storyline. I feel like each of my stories has its own depth to them. But, in terms of voice, I think I am getting closer and closer to discovering my writing voice. Obviously, you have one once you start out, but maybe there isn't one voice per writer since everyone keeps developing as a person over time, and there are years between books. My aspiration has always been to be very true in my writing. It can be a bit of a challenge to write really truthful words. I'm hoping that as I progress as a writer, that will become easier and clearer, and I think in ways it already has.
Speaking of things being easier as time goes on, which of the stories did you find hardest to write?
It's difficult to say because they all have their own challenges and their own settings. Bringing Down The Duke was probably the easiest to create because I just wrote it for myself. I wrote it just for the fun and the joy of it. At the same time, that was the very first book I'd ever written. That challenge there was that I needed to learn how to write. I had to take a whole writing course after my first attempts because, in my opinion, they were pretty terrible. They weren’t really doing the characters justice. So, I enrolled in an online writing course that I did parallel to my job, which helped me understand how sentences work and how to transport the images I had in my mind onto the page. And then, if you look at the second novel, A Rogue Of One’s Own, it was the first book I wrote under a contract and the first book where there were external expectations, that does something to a writer as well. The third book, Portrait Of A Scotsman, ran over into the beginnings of the pandemic, which wasn't great. But at that point, I had largely finished it. The Gentleman’s Gambit was my pandemic book. When you put that on top of the fact that I had also already written three books in a row, I was creatively and personally burned out at the start, so that became a challenge. Looking at everything I've just told you, I would say that Portrait Of A Scotsman was the easiest to write overall.
Do you have one that is your favorite or that you're proudest of now that they're all finished?
I always say the same thing when people ask me who's your favorite character. I say, “You don't really pick your favorite children, do you?” Every book made sense at the time for what it was. And I’ve tried my best with every novel that I've written, so it’s difficult for me to pick a favorite. I am quite proud that I managed to finish The Gentleman's Gambit because, as I mentioned, I had a mental health challenge when I was trying to complete it. Just from the point of endurance, I'm proud of finishing it.
It truly wraps everything up beautifully. With the interconnectivity of the series, did you feel any pressure to include the characters whose stories you had already focused on as the novels continued?
That's a great question. It was actually a challenge for me to write a series for that reason. Sometimes, the story you have in mind doesn't necessarily have the space for other characters in the series, and you want to tell the best possible story for the two characters you're focused on from a craft perspective. If you start crowding it with previous characters, the actual story can get lost. There’s a point where you just start writing fanfiction for yourself. The further you get in a series, the more pressure there is to let consumer demands dictate how the storyline goes, which I don’t think is always the best thing for a book. In this novel, things became a little crowded because there was an expectation to wrap it up in a way that honored the female friendship that is so integral to the series without jeopardizing the main storyline.
I really loved the little ways you found to give each of the characters their time to shine. It was really fun to read. With the timeframe between the last two books, did the fan theories regarding Catriona’s love interest influence any early drafts?
Are you talking about Peregrin?
Yeah. [laughs]
I can completely see why people would have thought that because she clearly has a crush on him in the first couple of books, but I personally never intended for her to end up with him. I love Peregrin. He's such a fun character, and I would have actually liked to give him more page time, but I think Catriona would be a bit too much for him to handle, at least at that stage in his life. He's still very young.
You explained why it wasn't him very well in this book, but I was shocked when the synopsis for this one came out. [laughter] There’s so much historical fact embedded into your novels, which I love. What interested you in writing fiction or the facts that inspire these books?
I've been interested in politics and history since I was a teenager. I've also been writing bits and bobs since I was a child, but I studied politics and engaged with that much sooner than when I seriously started writing fiction. I think this era or section of history is fascinating, and it did make me think about stories, but I had no idea I would eventually combine the two.
With history being your first love, so to speak, what is your research process like?
It's a mixture of getting an overview of the main events and trends at the time and a deep dive into the points that I don't know very much about, or that could be intriguing. For the broad skimming, I use online resources like Victorian Web, and then I use actual literature and primary sources for the more minute details.
Do you do most of your research before you start the novel, or do you look things up as you go, depending on what direction the story takes?
Both. If you go in without anything, you don’t have much to build a story, and even if you think you do know enough, you may accidentally build a plot around a certain plot point just to find out that thing hadn't existed at the time, or was actually in a completely different context. To save myself from having to rewrite or think of a new twist, I do most of my research first. It's very easy to overlook something or misinterpret something when endeavoring to write a novel that is historically correct. I try to have an overview of the cornerstones before I start. Then, as I go, I always have to do some more research on the smaller details. For example, when I was writing A Rogue Of One’s Own, I knew about The Married Women's Property Act. I knew about women in publishing at the time, but I didn't know whether there was canned cat food at the time. [laughter] It’s things like that I research as I write.
The Gentleman’s Gambit has a big focus on closure and identity. Not only does everything come together so beautifully for each of the characters and the story as a whole, but Catriona is able to revisit each of these past “relationships” and find that she has healed more than she thought. Often, in real life, that is not always given. Why did you think it was important to include in her story?
It was important for me to show that because I think one theme of the book is that you can't let your past dictate your future. Catriona lives with what I would say is high-functioning anxiety. Sometimes, through cognitive behavioral therapy, you can somewhat desensitize yourself to certain fears or anxieties. You can learn how to work with them. In her story, it was important that she confronted some of these anxieties because the biggest obstacle to her happiness was herself. She needed to confront her fears. When she does confront her past, when she faces each of these people in different ways, that is a moment of healing in itself. She realizes, “Wow, I have moved on more than I realized.” Plus, learning that she was courageous enough to do it is also good for her because, ultimately, she needs that courage to go after what she really wants. I don't think she would have believably done what she does in the end without having confronted those previous fears.
They’re almost like little test runs for the big event at the end.
Exactly. I think that sometimes you just don't know who you're going to see twice or what somebody was good for. Sometimes, you have a really bad episode with someone, and then years later, they will turn out to have been good for something unexpected. It's not always black and white. That’s also something that she learns through that experience.
I definitely agree with that statement. I love the epilogue in this book. I am not usually a big epilogue fan, but this one is so beautifully full circle. Did you always know you wanted it to be from Annabelle’s POV?
When I started the book, I didn't think the epilogue was going to be from Annabelle’s point of view. However, when it came time to write it, there was absolutely no question in my mind about using her perspective. I feel like Elias and Catriona have their closure or their happy ending in the final chapter. They’re happy. Catriona has come full circle from swimming alone in the loch in the cold to being happy with her lover in the Mediterranean seas. The series began with Annabelle joining the suffrage cause. So, for me, it made total sense to give the epilogue since it was for the whole series.
When I figured out it was from her point of view, it turned into something more than just an epilogue. It’s very sweet. How did you find dreaming up each woman’s future and family lines? Was it hard? Was it just fun? Did you have different drafts?
It was fun. I liked imagining their stories in my head. They all get their happy ending, which maybe is not realistic, but why not?
A happy ending is what you sign up for with a romance novel. I think it’s the ending the characters deserve. Since A League of Extraordinary Women has come to a close, what are you looking to explore next, if anything?
I have started something new. But I have no idea where it's going yet, so it's difficult to say much about it. I'd say it's adjacent to both history and romance, but I’d call it more like a historical fantasy or a historical romantasy.
Oh, that's so fun! I can't wait to see where it goes. How exciting!
Same here. [laughter] I'm also very excited to see where it will go.
I'm a big fan of that subgenre, and I know I’m not alone, so fingers crossed. Lastly, which Female Main Character archetype do you relate to most?
It's The Nerd. But with a side of The Boss as well. I don't really like to lead a situation just for the sake of it, but if people are faffing about, I’ll be the one to step in and say, “Let's get it done. Let’s do this.”
