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Menna van Praag is the author of the magical realism novels The House at the End of Hope Street, The Dress Shop of Dreams and The Witches of Cambridge (paperback original, Ballantine Books, February 9, 2016). She has also written screenplays and the memoir-novella Men, Money & Chocolate, translated into 26 languages. She's working on her new novel, The Lost Art of Letter Writing.
On your nightstand now:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'm reading it for the third time as it's providing inspiration to a new screenplay I'm writing. I also loved the film, with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, for its understated emotion and sublime subtle subtext. As a story of unconsummated love, it has me in tears every time.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I loved the Just William books by Richmal Crompton. They are stories about a very naughty (but rather lovable) boy called William, who's always getting into frightful scrapes and delightful adventures. My own childhood was never so exciting (probably because I was significantly more timid and better behaved than William), so I loved living vicariously through him. I'm re-reading them all now and only just discovered that the author is a woman. Also, I must mention Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, I was more than a little in love with Anne.
Your top five authors:
Gosh, this is a tricky one. I've long been a great admirer of Ann Patchett; The Magician's Assistant was my first and my favorite, though I adore all her books. I also read everything by Tracy Chevalier. I love David Sedaris because, whatever he's writing about, it invariably induces in me great spurts of glorious laughter. In that vein, P.G. Wodehouse is also a firm favorite, I find myself reading Jeeves and Wooster again and again. E.M. Forster was also one of my first loves. I read A Room with a View as a teenager and it had such an impact that it played a very starring role in my first novel, The House at the End of Hope Street.
Book you've faked reading:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I know it was brilliant, I know everyone adored it, but I just couldn't get through it. I've since (years later) "read" it via audiobook and it was beautifully written, but I clearly just needed to have it read to me.
Book you're an evangelist for:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I must have bought 20+ copies of this book for friends, family and complete strangers. I shoehorn this book into any conversation about books and have been known to take people's addresses and send them a copy, along with a letter urging them to read it or I'll turn up uninvited on their doorstep. If you like magical realism, you will adore this book.
Book you've bought for the cover:
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I'd just missed my train at King's Cross and so, of course, I headed straight for the nearest bookshop to while away the next hour waiting for the train. Her cover was so enchanting that I couldn't resist it. I didn't regret it, either; the story within was even more beautiful than its cover.
Book you hid from your parents:
I honestly don't remember. I don't think I hid anything from them. They both greatly encouraged reading. The only thing I might have hid from them was anything considered a little too unsophisticated.
Book that changed your life:
Working on Yourself Doesn't Work by Ariel & Shya Kane. It's nonfiction but beautifully written and absolutely life changing. I was 26 when I read it, full of self-doubt and self-loathing and unable to finish a single piece of writing because I never believed anything was good enough. This book, along with all their subsequent books, absolutely transformed my writing and my life along with it.
Favorite line from a book:
"Only connect," from Howards End by E.M. Forster. I'm naturally quite shy and scared of rejection when making new friends, but I get so much joy from connecting with others and this line reminds me to be brave.
Five books you'll never part with:
A signed edition of Stardust by Neil Gaiman. A copy of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, a gift from my father. My first copy of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (both book and author also play a starring role in The House at the End of Hope Street). A signed copy of My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell, another favorite author. And my only copy of Men, Money & Chocolate (from the very first self-published print run of only 100 copies) for sentimental reasons.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
It has to be The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I first discovered it when my son was nine months old. At the time he'd only sleep while being pushed in the pram, so I'd go on long walks, pushing the pram while reading the book--I bumped into a fair few lampposts!