Julia Armfield, a London-based fiction writer known for her novels exploring climate catastrophe, discusses her latest work, 'Private Rites.' She delves into how King Lear's themes resonate in a world shaped by rising sea levels, particularly through the lens of three sisters navigating their father’s death. The conversation touches on sibling dynamics, eco-critical themes, and the intersection of queerness and horror in contemporary narratives. Armfield also reflects on the everyday struggle amidst disaster and how familial power plays manifest in modern life.
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insights INSIGHT
Sibling Dynamics and Birth Order
Julia Armfield loves writing about siblings and the dynamics within families.
She's particularly interested in how birth order affects individuals and their relationships.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Mafia-Flavored Lear
Armfield was influenced by a National Theatre production of King Lear starring Simon Russell Beale.
The production had a mafia-like flavor, highlighting the inescapable nature of family.
insights INSIGHT
Queerness in Disaster Narratives
Armfield's novel, Private Rites, explores queerness within a climate crisis setting.
She questions how the disaster genre changes when the nuclear family isn't the focus.
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Julia Armfield's "Private Rights" is a near-future novel set in a flooded London. It follows three sisters grappling with their father's death and their complex relationships. The novel explores themes of inheritance, power dynamics, and familial trauma against the backdrop of climate change. Armfield masterfully weaves together Shakespearean influences, particularly King Lear, with a distinctly modern and queer perspective. The narrative delves into the sisters' individual struggles and their attempts to navigate their grief and build new lives in a changed world.
Our Wives under the Sea
Julia Armfield
King Lear
William Shakespeare
King Lear, written by William Shakespeare around 1604-1606, is a tragedy that follows the story of King Lear, who decides to retire and divide his kingdom among his three daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. The division is based on the eloquence of their declarations of love for him. However, Lear's youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia, refuses to flatter him and is disinherited. The play unfolds with Lear's descent into madness, the betrayal by his elder daughters, and the subplot involving the Earl of Gloucester and his sons. Ultimately, the play ends in tragedy with the deaths of Lear, Cordelia, and several other main characters, highlighting themes of deception, power, and the consequences of poor judgment[1][2][5].
Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited 
