- Diane Samuels is pictured with Kings English students Oliver Riordan, Jake Robinson, Stephen Shaw and Sam Hollis.
King’s School English Literature GCSE students enjoyed a rare opportunity to quiz the writer of one of their set texts when Diane Samuels spent a day at the Boys’ and Girls’ divisions.
Liverpudlian playwright Diane has enjoyed worldwide acclaim for her masterpiece “Kinder Transport” which deals with the separation of a Jewish girl from her mother as children were evacuated from Nazi Germany in 1938.
The story recounts nine-year-old-Eva’s experiences when she ends up in Manchester with the Miller family. She takes time to settle down but slowly starts to trust and depend on her foster mother, Lil. When her parents fail to escape from Germany her attachment to her stepmother increases and a new identity starts to form.
Not long after the war has finished, she changes her name to Evelyn and acquires a British passport. Over thirty years later, her own grown-up daughter, Faith, discovers some old letters in the attic and Evelyn is confronted with her hidden past.
Diane said: “It does feel somewhat strange to be talking to students who are reading my work and will answer questions on what I wrote nearly 20 years ago, but I am honoured and I feel it is an important story and still relevant today. After all some people on the Kinder Transport are still alive and their experiences will not only have changed their lives but also those of their children and grandchildren.” Diane continued: “I talked to the students about the universal themes in the play, about the separation of a child from its mother and how a minority culture can influence a majority culture.” Diane advised young writers: “The thing to do is make sure you practise. It is good to read but if you want to be a writer then writing regularly is more important. And try to find your own voice, even if others don’t like it, persevere and be authentic.” Lucy Derby Head of English Literature at King’s Boys’ Division, said: “The English Literature curriculum does increasingly contain more work by contemporary writers, but it is still extremely rare to be able to invite such an acclaimed author to talk to our students.”
