The Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley holds a very special place in my reader’s heart. About seven years ago, my mom, sister, grandmother, and I all read the first book in the series. At the time, only four of the books in the series had been published, and as the four of us made progress with them, we eagerly awaited the sequels as well. In 2018, I messaged Lucinda on Instagram, not expecting her to read it and respond. But to my surprise, she sent me a wonderful message in return, and I will forever cherish it.
The author, Lucinda Riley, sadly passed away in 2021, three weeks after the publication of the seventh book in the series, The Missing Sister, from a cancer she had been battling for four years. Her eldest son, Harry Whittaker, took over the task of writing the final book. The two had previously co-written a children’s book series, The Guardian Angels, but this was a different challenge. He had to give the whole series closure, which spanned over 10 years of work. As a true fan to this day, when I heard that Harry Whittaker would be having an event at the York Literature Festival where he would talk about it all, I knew I had to attend.
The series, which now has eight books, tells the story of Pa Salt, a millionaire philanthropist who decides to adopt six girls at different times and from different parts of the world. He names them as stars from the Seven Sisters constellation: Maia, Alcyone, Asterope, Celaeno, Taygete, and Electra. They all grow up surrounded by comfort and love, so much so that they never really felt the need to know where they really come from, or who brought them and left them in this world. Now they are all adults, and Pa Salt has died (not a spoiler!). Each sister has received very specific and important things to understand their heritage: coordinates and an object belonging to someone in their biological family. Now it is up to them to delve into their past and find out where they come from. Not only that, but also to learn who in their family came before them. Each book has two timelines: the present one, that focuses on a sister and her journey, both literal and metaphorical, to understand her heritage. The past one allows us to see the perspective of a woman in her family line who has played a significant role in their creations. The main themes that the saga covers are family, love, loss, and identity.
In the conversational event, part of the York Literature Festival, that took place the 13th of March at York Explore Library and Archive, Whittaker was asked if writing the end of such an impactful series ever felt like a burden. He said that it was the opposite, that “he wrote it as a tribute to his mother.” Writing it gave him “no time to miss her”, and that it felt therapeutic to have this chance to honour his mother. He also added that he wasn’t proud of it, that he put all of his effort and love into it but could never do it as well as Lucinda. The love and admiration towards his mother was very present in his words and answers, and Lucinda’s talent in writing has clearly been inherited by Harry. His writing routine for Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt consisted in getting down at least 10 pages a day, even if he had to force himself to do it. “If you need to write it, you can do it”, he said, and I think that’s a message that every writer should follow.
After the talk, there was the opportunity to buy books, get them signed by Harry, and have a little chat with him. He was incredibly nice and welcoming. I told him about how The Seven Sisters was such a beloved series for me and my family and how Lucinda replied to my message years ago. We got a photo together, and since I didn’t have my physical copy of the book with me in York, he not only autographed the notes I took for this article but also some pieces of paper dedicated to my sister, mum, and grandma.
To end this piece on an inspiring note, I asked him to give some exclusive writing advice to all the aspiring authors at York St John University. and he said “write, even if it’s garbage. Edits will come later, the important thing is to write first.”
By Luciana Medrano, 2nd year Creative Writing student