Shelf Awareness--Interview with Marie Lu

YA Tie-In: Interview with Marie Lu, author of The Kingdom of Back

Marie Lu is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Young Elites series, as well as the bestselling Legend series and the Warcross novels. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry as an artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing games and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles with her illustrator/author husband, Primo Gallanosa, and their dogs.

What inspired you to write this story of a little-known sister to the great composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

Since I was little, I'd always been fascinated by the story of Mozart and his prodigious childhood--but it took until 10 years ago for me to learn that he had a sister at all, let alone one arguably as talented as him at composition and performance. I learned about Nannerl Mozart from a biography about her brother and remember thinking, How, out of all the things out there about Wolfgang, had no one ever bothered to mention this genius young girl? So I did a deep dive into her life and learned that the two of them, as children, had actually toured Europe together to play for kings and queens. During their long carriage rides, they created for themselves a fantasy kingdom they called Back, which they used to pass the hours together. This fact seemed so magical to me that I knew immediately I wanted to write a story about it--and about Nannerl.

Can you talk about some of your influences in developing the fantastical Kingdom of Back?

I've always loved the magical and the strange, places that feel like a fever dream. The Dark Crystal, old faerie tales (the unfiltered kind), stories by Guillermo del Toro, Alice in Wonderland and elements from Peter Pan all influenced my world for this novel. I wanted the Kingdom of Back to be both beautiful and dark, a place that felt (in contrast to rigid 18th-century Europe) colorfully surreal, somewhere you'd want to visit but perhaps not to stay.

Front and center is the way Nannerl’s options are severely limited by the expectations of her father and the times. How did you reconcile the treatment of women in the 1700s with concerns your present-day readers might have? Do you think women are still constrained by society’s expectations?

This was a heavy question for me. The real Nannerl, obviously, never gets to break out from those limitations placed on her and, even though the Kingdom of Back is a fantastical version of history, I didn't think I could change her fate. How, then, could I end the story with any note of triumph for Nannerl? I tried to write it in a way that both showed how things used to be for women and how things can be different today. Of course women are still constrained by society--we see it in so many ways, every single day. The difference now, though, is that many of the barriers society erected to enforce gender roles are coming down. There is more access to information now, more women holding up other women, and as that dam falters, more women who get to make the important decisions that empower future generations of women. As much as I hope Nannerl's story can inspire young girls to pursue their dreams, the book is written more for everyone else in a girl's life, people with the power to clear away the roadblocks that hold girls back. We can't just leave girls to pound at glass ceilings alone. It is everyone's responsibility to shatter those ceilings for them.

The desire to make something wonderful that will live on beyond its creator--to leave one's "voice in the world"--is so important to Nannerl. What do you think motivates Woferl?

I think Woferl was motivated by the same call, and I truly think he learned it from Nannerl, whom he adored and idolized. Leaving one's voice in the world is, I think, important to most creators. Woferl, of course, was given the chance to fulfill that desire.

The relationship between Nannerl and Woferl is wonderfully defined. I can believe she loves him dearly, even as she is increasingly jealous of his opportunities. How did find your inspiration for their dynamic?

I've always been interested in playing with sibling dynamics in my stories--probably because I'm an only child! I don't feel like I missed out on anything, but I do find the relationship fascinating, in all its different iterations, and especially so with two siblings experiencing such an unusual childhood. A lot of the inspiration for Woferl and Nannerl's relationship came from their real history together, where letters and documents seem to show that they genuinely loved and were inspired by one another. I also always like listening to all sorts of stories from friends with siblings, everything from blaming each other for using Sharpies on the wall to creating make-believe worlds together. Those snuck in occasionally to my chapters, too!

What's coming next from Marie Lu?

I have a science fiction series opener called Skyhunter coming out in fall 2020! I can't say much about it yet, except that it's my longest book so far and has been a huge challenge to write, but I'm pretty excited to introduce readers to my new crew.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Only that I hope readers end the book not just interested in learning more about Nannerl, but all the other people that history left behind--women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people. So many stories! We all seriously existed and did extraordinary things.