NEWS: The Woman Beyond The Attic - V.C. Andrews Biography

In my interview with Ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman, he hinted at an upcoming announcement on a long-anticipated biography of the Flowers in the Attic author. Now it has been officially announced, even with a title confirmed - there has been whispers of a summer release, but no date has been confirmed. The confirmation came from Publisher's Weekly yesterday:

Gallery Books, home of the V.C. Andrews franchise, acquired a biography of the author by her long-time ghostwriter, Andrew Neiderman. (Neiderman continues to write new titles under the V.C. Andrews line, which is now in its 41st year.) The Woman Behind the Attic was nabbed by Rebecca Strodel from Alec Shane at Writers House in a world rights agreement. The publisher said the book relies on Andrews’s letters and essays, as well as Neiderman’s interviews with her family to “provide answers to decades-long questions and debates about the origins and details of her most famous work, Flowers in the Attic.”

Virginia Andrews' personal life has been closely guarded, even after her death. Based on the subject matters of her books, many readers assumed she had a terrible child. This was disputed by the woman herself, but there was no denying she was drawn to the darker sides of adolescence.

For background references, I will be incorporating research from the wonderfully detailed fan site Complete V.C. Andrews - which I would highly, HIGHLY recommend.

When she was alive, she fiercely resisted the notion that her novels were largely autobiographical. Readers, interviewers, and reporters would believe she was an abused child who suffered at the hands of her family. "They feel sorry for me, terribly sorry that I have gone though this awful abuse and was then locked away. A lot of them say, 'Don't be ashamed that you are in love with your brother.' " In Douglas E. Winter's Faces of Fear interview, Virginia says:

"I didn't have a terrible childhood. The most terrible things about my childhood probably were those that I created my mind because my childhood was so ordinary, and I wanted it to be more exciting. But it wasn't exciting. A lot of people think I was tortured, but my parents didn't do anything. They didn't beat me. They didn't whip me. They didn't lock me away. I didn't even go hungry. And I had a lot of pretty clothes."

The Woman Beyond the Attic has been confirmed to be getting a February 2022 release by Neiderman, with a cover reveal this week. The cover depicts an iconic picture of Virginia, with ivy making its way down the cover. It captures the classic 80s cover design of the Dollanganger, Casteel and Audrina original publication while having a modern twist. The coloured in flower also has a poetic shout out to Virginia's prologue of her most famous novel.

Through social media, Neiderman also has confirmed the biography will include many never before seen pictures, letters and a partial unfinished original novel. The movie rights have already been acquired by Dan Angel Productions, who have been adapting V.C. Andrews originals and ghostwritten books into films since 2014.

Who could play V.C. Andrews? My number one choice would be Imelda Staunton to play the Gothic Horror novelist - known best for playing Delores Umbridge in the Harry Potter film series and set to play Queen Elizabeth in the final two seasons of Netflix's The Crown, I think this would be terrific casting. Staunton is a terrific actress who is not only age appropriate, but has proven her range and diversity as an actress. Even looking at them together, she looks perfect for this role!

Virginia's voice and style of writing throughout her seven novels (that she wrote in life) pulled readers in and that has something which has quite literally stood the test of time. Based on a balance of twisted dramas and dark "what ifs", it was something rarely seen in female fiction for that time. Her articles and interviews suggests she took "creative licence" based on her rather insightful article "A Writer’s Way to Profit from Memories" is another glimpse at her voice outside her characters and where she finds her inspiration:

When you sit at your typewriter to begin your novel, think back to some traumatic event in your own life. Take it, change it about and make the worst happen, then compound the trouble with more dilemmas. If your main protagonist is lost in the desert, miles from civilization make a leak in the canteen so thirst is a problem. If your character finds water, make it poisoned. If it isn’t poisoned, have him/her fall down and break a leg so the water can’t easily be reached. In other words, play God, a bored God who wants to be entertained (just as your readers do), and bring on the dragons, witches, ogres and demons meaning all those little calamities that can put our lives in peril.

With the promise of this upcoming biography featuring essays, articles and even interviews set to be featured, I am hopeful that The Woman Beyond the Attic will dive into the life of Virginia and like Philip Pullman's Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling will let readers learn about how she crafted such dark and compelling stories.

I for one, cannot wait to get some further insight into one of my favourite authors - who has inspired my own writing - and learn more about her.