Meet the Intern: Introducing Sophie

Oct 10

Hello from Sophie

Hi! I’m Sophie, and I started my internship at History Through Fiction last month. I wanted to take this moment to introduce myself.

A Life Shaped by Many Places

I’m British and currently live in Dorset, a county in the south-west of England. However, I spent my childhood moving around: two years in Thailand, a year in Colombia, four years in Dubai, and seven years in China. Moving constantly was difficult when I was younger, but now I’m grateful I got to grow up in so many different cultures and meet so many people. It’s definitely shaped the person I have become. People often ask me if I can speak any of these languages. No, but I can speak Italian! I worked in Sardinia for a few summers and picked it up.

Life in Dorset

As I mentioned, I now live in Dorset with my family, our dog, Bambam, and our cat, Socks. The countryside is beautiful, and I love going on walks to identify local flora and breathe fresh air. However, as a woman in my mid-20s, a small town can get pretty dull, so I often venture to Bristol and London to enjoy big-city life! In my own time, I’m a bit of a grandma. I like cooking and baking vegan food, which has its own set of challenges as I’m determined to ‘veganise’ all my tried-and-true recipes (let’s just say that some of them are no longer tried and true). I also like knitting, playing board games and D&D, and embroidering (I’m currently embroidering tote bags for my family and friends).

A Lifelong Love of Books

And now onto books! I grew up obsessed with books. I was the type of child who sat in the library during lunch and stayed up late to finish books. These bookworm activities culminated in me studying English Literature at Durham University. My dissertation was an ecocritical study of The Lord of the Rings and the Dark Star Trilogy. I also explored the postcolonial aspects of both texts. It was at Durham that I began to think of the future. I hated the idea of not spending my life working with books, so I decided publishing was the industry for me.

Since graduating, I’ve expanded my reading tastes further, from ghost stories to sapphic romance, memoir, travel literature, and much, much more! Basically, if the story is good enough, there isn’t any genre I wouldn’t read!

Finding a Place in Publishing

I’ve also spent the last two years building up my publishing experience. I’ve been an editorial intern at both a children’s publisher and a literary magazine, worked at an indie bookshop, started a Bookstagram account, and trained as a proofreader.

Discovering History Through Fiction

I’ve been a fan of History Through Fiction ever since I read The Aziola’s Cry, so when I saw this internship on Instagram, I jumped at the opportunity to work with Colin and the rest of the team. I love historical fiction in all its forms because it allows us to uncover lost voices of the past (even if they never really existed) whilst reflecting on our modern times by looking back. My favourite historical fiction books I’ve read this year are The Water Lilies of Mishipeshu, Like in Love with You, Sweetbitter Song, Hungerstone, and the Brontë Sisters Mystery Series, but I’m always open to recommendations!