Jenny Lecoat grew up in Channel Islands, 15 years after World War II. She knew her family’s history, but she didn’t know the horrors that they had experienced. Her curiosity peaked in her 30’s when Jenny saw photos of her family being shown in documentaries on national British television. Seeing them, Jenny realized that she had a responsibility to tell their story and the story of Channel Islands. Especially after having heard a variety of differing stories of the people and the islands’ occupation by the Nazis.
There are stories that need to be told and stories that should never be forgotten. Stories that tell the history of events that have taken place. And stories that need to correct the ones that have not been remembered correctly. One such story is the story of Channel Islands and its occupation by the Nazis.
She may never have written a novel before, but she had done quite a bit of writing. You see, Jenny had been a stand-up comedian writing her own material. She also wrote for sitcoms and soap operas. And then onto dramas and more serious historical subjects. In 2017 Jenny wrote the screenplay for ‘Another Mother’s Son’, the true story of her great-aunt who, during World War II, hid a young Russian war prisoner.
‘The Girl From Channel Islands’ is a historical novel based on the true story of Hedy Bercu and the woman who hid her from the Nazis for 18 months, Dorothea Le Brocq. The book debuted in February of 2021 in North America. It made the New York Times bestseller list its first week.
This week I talk with Jenny Lecoat:
- Transitioning from standup comic to writing a New York Times bestseller
- Her dad at 5 and the occupation
- What you don’t know about the Channel Islands
- The timing of the North American publication of The Girl From Channel Islands and the release of her movie, ‘Another Mother’s Son’
- The untold stories of the heroes of the Resistance
- Why this story needs to be told and remembered
- How does it start
- Never forget
- What’s next
Meet Jenny Lecoat:
Jenny is a New York Times bestselling author, screenwriter, former standup comedian, newspaper and magazine feature writer and teacher. Over the last thirty years Jenny has written for a wide range of formats including feature film, television drama, sitcoms and sketch shows. She has taught screenwriting courses and is a qualified teacher of English as a Foreign Language. Jenny has studied British Sign Language enabling her to work with D/deaf writers and actors. She lives in Essex Sussex, UK with her husband, writer Gary Lawson.