The current state of the world has increased interest in history, and at the same time, readers crave escapism. Many authors draw topics for their books from the history of their immediate surroundings.
– Then it already occurred to me that one day I could write a novel about this.
Now, at the age of 70, the time has come. Manninen is working on a new series of novels *Rouvankartano tarinoita*, which tells about Alikartano’s life and above all about Hedda-Noora, who runs the estate.
In Kirsti Manninen’s opinion, writing about the immediate environment is natural.
– It is easy for the writer to place the story in a world whose present is well known. Old layers and history are also present in it.
Although Alikartano is a familiar place to Manni, he has had to do a lot of background research. He has read Hedda-Noora’s correspondence and researched and checked numerous details of the manor life at the end of the 18th century. The manor belonged to the Nordenskiöld family, about which there is a lot of information.
– Fortunately, Hedda-Noora’s handwriting is so clear that the letters are relatively easy to read.
Stories about women written by women were disparaged
Kirsti Manninen has written women’s stories for almost her entire career. The protagonists of historical novels are almost always women.
When Kirsti Manninen started her career as a writer in the 1980s, novels written by and about women were looked down upon.
– They were immediately put on the entertainment shelf, which had a different meaning then than it does today. If a man wrote a historical novel about male heroes, it was immediately serious, important literature, Manninen recalls.
Kirsti Manninen, aka Enni Mustonen, has been one of the best-selling Finnish authors for years. About 1.5 million copies of Mustonen’s books have been sold in various formats. That’s a huge figure by Finnish standards. Especially Manninen’s previous series *Syrjästäkatotoja taaritaita* was very popular. It has sold around 800,000 copies.
For example, in Bookbeat, Finland’s largest audiobook service, Enni Mustonen was the most listened to Finnish author this year.
Entertainment literature offers an escape from the oppressive world situation
The popularity of historical entertainment novels has increased again in recent years after a decline, and the reason for that can be found in the world situation.
– The audiobook format works with plot-driven narration and serial content. Historical book series are all of these, and that’s why they’ve been the biggest winners in the booming audiobook market. When the listener gets hooked on one part of the series, he will gladly listen to the whole series right away.
The popularity of entertainment literature is also indicated by the fact that audio books are made of the early productions of, among others, Enni Mustonen and Kaari Utrio.
In addition, the anxiety and fear caused by the corona and now Russia’s war of aggression make people seek escapism in literature.
– A historical novel offers the opportunity to travel, even for a moment, somewhere far away from all the worries and sorrows of today, says publishing manager Antti Kasper.
Many domestic historical entertainment novels also deal with the period of Russian rule and wars, so you can also get information about past times.
– When we live in historical times, people clearly start to be interested in historical novels, sums up Kirsti Manninen.
Kirsti Manninen is also one of the most cited authors. His production is so huge that even he himself has not kept up with the number of publications.
– Yes, there are probably more than two hundred of them, when children’s books and non-fiction books are included.
During the writing phase, Enni gets away
Although Kirsti Manninen has written dozens of books set in history, she does thorough background research for each book.
For the new series of novels, he has familiarized himself not only with the history of Alikartano, but also with small everyday details. He had to find out, among other things, what kind of costume women rode in at the end of the 18th century.
– I always ask historians for advice. I was told that back then there were already skirts with slits, sort of like pants. Hedda-Noora was an avid rider and I knew that you can’t ride long distances in the woods in a women’s saddle. That would be too dangerous.
The first part of the *Rouvankartano* series is still in the finalization stage, as the book is scheduled to be published in April.
Mannine already has the entire series in mind, in outline. A story accurately describing history is woven around plot twists and facts. Manninen is especially known for how he makes everyday life in the past come alive on the pages of the book.
Most of the time is taken up by background work. The text itself is created quickly.
– When Kirsti has first done thorough background work, Enni can unleash herself in the writing phase.
*You can listen to Kirsti Manninen’s thoughts on the author’s work Why do I write? -in the audio series edited by Miia Gustafsson.*