Losing Mary

Losing Mary

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? Here, the focus shifts from substances to stories, as J Hirtle chats with historical fiction author Nikki Bell about her young adult novel *Losing Mary*. Set in Victorian England, the book follows 10-year-old Mary, whose birthday marks the end of childhood and the start of factory work, harsh realities and heartbreak. Nikki explains how a single word – “mudlarking” – and an article about a girl named Mary Franklin sparked her imagination.

When she realised the real “Mary” was part of a modern awareness project rather than a documented child, she asked, *“What if it was a little girl? What if she did go through these things?”* and built a story from there. The conversation digs into child labour, rigid social rules and how little choice girls had in 1840s Britain.

Nikki talks about making Mary’s father a “tosher” in the London sewers and moving the family just in time for the 1843 Christmas season, complete with the first Christmas card and the first printing of *A Christmas Carol*. Listeners get a sense of how she uses intense visualisation to bring smells, textures and sounds of the era to life. Beyond the history, the episode is packed with honesty about writing and rejection.

Nikki admits, “It turns out that the writing of the book is the easy part,” as she recalls sending around 40 query letters, collecting polite but painful “no”s, and finally turning to Kindle and paperback self-publishing.

There’s gentle humour too, from leaving copies in Airbnbs to parents emailing “everything you need to fix.” For anyone in recovery who connects with stories of resilience and hard-earned hope, Mary’s fight for a better life – and Nikki’s persistence as a new writer – might feel very familiar. Which part speaks more to you: the courage to grow up fast, or the courage to keep sharing your work after 40 rejections?