Q&A with Jonathan about
The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne
April 2021

 What inspired you to write The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, the first book in the series?

There’s been a lot of talk about Britishness over the last few years, and perhaps some changes in the way we view ourselves. I was keen to write something that touched on this notion of change – whether for good or bad – and explored its implications. Being a fantasy writer, I decided to write about a future Britain where a major occurrence (‘the Cataclysm’) has radically altered not just the landscape and the fauna of the UK, but also the societies that survive in it. And I rather liked the idea of a ‘British Western’, where a few surviving towns cling to old ways, while ravening beasts stalk the home counties beyond. My two heroes, Scarlett and Albert, are both outcasts from these inward-looking towns, but they have the bravery to look ever outwards, and are prepared to face up to the challenges of the dangerous new world.

How did you come up with the characters of Scarlett McCain and Albert Browne?

I knew from the outset that I would have two central characters who would be opposites, and that they would therefore have the capacity for conflict – and also the capacity to save each other. Scarlett’s character fell into place in the first two chapters: from the moment she wakes up surrounded by the bodies of four dead men (bandits who had attacked her in the night), we know she is formidable, fierce and not to be messed with. She then robs a bank, showing infinite cheek and chutzpah. She is solitary and self-possessed, and is contemptuous of everyone else. Needless to say, I therefore instantly gave her a companion who would really irritate her: the gentle, hapless and rather needy Albert Browne. Despite her loud impatience with him, she straightaway saves his life – and this tells you an important fact about her true nature. As I followed their adventure together, it was by watching the collision of their two characters that I came to understand the secrets of their personalities. It’s a process I’m still continuing now, as I work on the sequel.

How did you create the landscapes and world in the books?

From the beginning, I wanted my story to feature a raft journey along the Thames, following it from source to outflow across the heartland of England. There would be familiar placenames en route, but everything in my future world is different from the rather cosy reality we know today. The land is harsher and wilder, with endless forests, marshes and arid mountains. London has disappeared under a shallow lagoon, where only a few shattered skyscrapers poke up above the waves. There is a frontier mentality reminiscent of the American West; the human population mostly cowers inside a few Surviving Towns, clinging to an outmoded conception of Englishness. Only a few rebellious bandits and outlaws reject this inward-looking existence and venture out beyond the walls – and there are none more rebellious than Scarlett and Albert. As I pieced together their journey, I realized that the English landscape they moved through was becoming almost another character in the story: it’s by experiencing its threats and secret beauty that my heroes figure out who they are.

Can you tell us about the monsters, creatures and dangerous forces in Scarlett and Albert’s world?

I knew from the start that my tale would be an adventure set in the future. Just as unspecified cataclysms have altered the world, these forces have also affected the creatures living in it. Rapid evolution has taken place, and many animals have become much larger and more ferocious. Scarlett and Albert have to contend with wolves, giant otters and toothed birds, and there are vast fish roaming the rivers and sea. Worse than all of this, though, are the Tainted – cannibalistic semi-humans who lurk in the wilderness, and who occasionally creep forth to eat lonely travelers. It’s not surprising that many of the people in the story are deeply terrified of the ‘outside’, and refuse to ever leave the ‘safe lands’ around their little fortified towns. It leads to a terror of any kind of difference – and persecution of people who in some way don’t fit in. This intolerance (and fear of outsiders) is in many ways much more terrible than any of the ‘monsters’ out in the wilds – an irony which is one of the themes the book explores.

You are known for the humour you put into your books, is this true of the Scarlett and Browne series?

Certainly! Ever since I wrote The Amulet of Samarkand, the first book about Bartimaeus the djinni, I have enjoyed putting a lot of humour into my stories. In fact, it’s actually an essential component – a key part of the seriousness of the books. It balances out the darker themes that we explore, and is part of my characters’ armoury against the threats they face. This was true for Bartimaeus, and for the heroes of my Lockwood & Co. series, as they tackled ghosts in haunted houses. It’s true too for Scarlett and Albert, who inhabit a pretty unforgiving world, but who undercut their enemies with quick witted jibes as well as with bullets. They also generate a lot of humour through the conflict of their own characters – their frequent arguments and misunderstandings are the comic engine that powers the story.

There is mention of faith, religion and meditation in the story which is quite unusual for a teen series. Why did you want to include this and does it play a pivotal role in the story?

The Surviving Towns in the story are effectively run by an organisation of ‘Faith Houses’, which provide a portfolio of religions for the citizens to choose from. It sounds in some ways pretty appealing (you can choose any religion you like, and indeed worship several deities at once, if you wish) – but it is actually a cover for strictly enforced social conformity. If you deviate from the accepted rules, or if you’re born in any way ‘different’ (it is a time where genetic quirks abound), you are exiled or killed. Scarlett and Albert, who are both outsiders in different ways, don’t at first glance seem especially religious – but they are both in fact on spiritual quests, and display faith of a different and more honest kind. As I wrote the story, this theme became increasingly important to me, and I’m keen to explore it further in the other books.