What inspired you to write this story, and what drew you to this particular historical period?
My research for Infidel began long before I ever thought of writing a novel about Catherine of Aragón. It began on a beach in Tenerife, years before tourism transformed the island. To a child, it felt like another world. The light, the heat, the colours, the food, the rhythm of life.
I was fortunate enough to spend a great deal of time with a Spanish family who welcomed me into their home and their culture year after year. They taught me fragments of their language and, more importantly, the stories that shaped their history. Through them, I first encountered the world of Muslim Spain and the Catholic warrior monarchs who fought to reclaim it. It was impossible not to be fascinated.
How would you describe your book in a sentence to readers who haven’t discovered it yet?
This is Catherine of Aragon as she has not been seen before novel is about what made her so strong.
How much research went into the novel, and did you uncover anything surprising along the way?
I spent years reading about Isabella and Ferdinand and their family. I took a trip to Turkey to learn more about the Sultans of Granada and the siege of Constantinople.
I didn’t know about the assassination attempt on Catalina’s father Ferdinand of Aragon, nor the clever way that her mother Isabella of Castile protected the heir to the throne by sending him out to sea on a boat.
How do you balance historical accuracy with creating an engaging story?
Readers don’t need every stitch of a sleeve described but they do need to feel the weight of a crown, the danger of a rumour and the consequences of a marriage treaty. If the psychology and stakes are right, the world feels real.
My characters don’t know they’re “historical figures.” They’re navigating uncertainty, fear, ambition, and love in real time. Writing from that perspective keeps the story alive while remaining grounded in the facts.
Which character was the most interesting or challenging for you to write, and why?
Catalina’s sister Juana is often reduced to the label Juana the Mad, but she was far more than that. In Infidel, Juana allows me to explore the moral questions surrounding the Muslim wars and the Inquisition. She is outspoken, intelligent, and unwilling to accept cruelty as the natural cost of faith. Through her, I could give voice to the discomfort a modern reader might feel when confronted with the punishments and persecutions of the age. Without revealing too much, Juana’s own journey takes her far from home, and the emotional cost of that distance shapes her view of the world.
Did the story or any characters evolve in unexpected ways while you were writing?
Juan, the heir, became far more playful than I first envisioned. He gives the novel a few moments of light relief and I must admit I do adore him.
What does your writing process look like—are you a planner or do you prefer to write freely?
I have to plan because I have to know about the historical events and which ones shaped my characters the most. I start with all the dates that matter and the I weave them into the important events in Catalina’s life for example when would she have worn her first high heeled shoes? Catalina loves her shoes.
What do you hope readers will feel or take away after finishing your book?
Everyone knows Catherine of Aragon’s story in England almost no one knows what she endured in Spain to make her so strong. That’s the story I wanted to tell. When at the very end she steps on the ship to England armed with her mother’s lessons and her father’s steel and with the ghosts of the Alhunbra at her back. Catlina will step into her fate not as a girl but as a force. A Princess, a survivor and a daughter of Aragon. She is not just the first wife of Henry VIII.
If you could step into the world of your novel for a day, what would you most want to experience?
The Muslim Alhumbra on the day that she, her parents and her siblings saw the inside of the palace for the very first time.
Just for fun—if your book were adapted into a film, who would you love to see in the cast? 🎬
Catalina/Catherine of Aragon: Milly Alcock or Anya Taylor‑Joy’s early‑career intensity, but with a warmer emotional register.
Juana of Castile: Jodie Comer’s ability to shift from vulnerability to ferocity would be ideal.
Prince Juan: Someone with the delicacy and brightness of George MacKa
Ferdinand of Aragon: Pedro Pascal could deliver that duality without caricature.
Isabella of Castile: Someone with the authority of Shohreh Aghdashloo or the controlled intensity of Olivia Williams.
