Mrs. Engels (McCrea)

Author Bio
• Birth—1978
• Where—Dublin, Ireland
• Education—B.A., M.A., University College, Dublin; M.A., Ph.D., University of East Anglia
• Currently—lives in the UK and Spain


Gavin McCrea was born in Dublin in 1978 and has since traveled widely, living in Japan, Belgium and Italy, among other places. He holds a BA and an MA from University College Dublin, and an MA and a PhD from the University of East Anglia. He currently divides his time between the UK and Spain. (From the author's website.)

McCrea on writing Mrs Engels: "I was lucky," he says. "I had a scholarship from the University of East Anglia that allowed me to put other work aside and immerse myself full time in this for a good two years. A lot of my research was into the nuts and bolts of what it would have been possible to say and do in 1870, within domestic space and outdoors."

About Lizzie Burns: "I thought long and hard about her being illiterate. I didn’t want that to impoverish her in some way. Every time she speaks, I didn’t want to think, Oh, this woman can’t read and write. I wanted to do the exact opposite. I wanted the liberties that she took with language to enrich her. (Both excerpts from Irish Times.com).