by Maggie O'Farrell (2020)

"The Beauty of the World"

I've always been quite taken with those old-fashioned multi-layered-but-flat theatre sets, the kind that are 2D & 3D at the same time.

When I started making a Glass Cathedral of HAMNET, I wondered how best to recreate the magical forest world of the hero, Agnes, in her element.

The book already held all the essential elements of a Glass Cathedral, to be tiny in the immensity of things, and also to be the hero of your own story. But how to get the miniature recreation to really come alive?

I remembered I had some dry pieces of lichen-covered bark that I'd picked up on Hampstead Heath in the autumn. Of course, in a Glass Cathedral, a small piece of bark transforms into a mighty tree trunk! And that is how I built up this world for tiny Agnes.

I'm thrilled with the result, "The Beauty of The World", and am inspired to make more fantastical layered scenes using natural elements.