Uncovering Hidden Histories: Claire Wills on Family Secrets and National Scandals

Writer's Voice with Francesca Rheannon

Episode Description

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, host Francesca Rheannon sits down with acclaimed author Claire Wills to discuss her deeply personal and historically insightful book, Missing Persons or My Grandmother’s Secrets.

Wills shares her journey of uncovering family secrets surrounding an “illegitimate” pregnancy in 1950s Ireland and exploring the broader national scandal of mother and baby homes.

Through a blend of memoir and historical analysis, Wills illuminates the complex social forces that shaped perceptions of legitimacy and the devastating impact of secrecy on countless lives.

Then we re-play our interview from March of this year with Claire Coughlan about her mystery novel, Where They Lie. It centers around a clandestine abortion clinic in 1960’s Ireland.

And we continue our series of poetry readings from Mosab Abu Toha’s book, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza.

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Key Words: Claire Wills, Mother and Baby Homes, unwed mothers, abortion, podcast, author interview, book show, Ireland, Claire Coughlan, abortion rights

Key Topics

• The personal motivations behind Claire Wills’ exploration of her family’s hidden history.
• The Mother-and-Baby Home scandal that rocked Ireland in 2015.
• The changing social constructions of illegitimacy from the Irish famine to the mid-20th century.
• The role of the Catholic Church and the bureaucratization of secrecy in post-independence Ireland.
• The dynamics of family secrets and their influence on personal and collective memory.

About the Author

Claire Wills is an acclaimed author and historian whose work focuses on 20th-century British and Irish cultural history and literature. She teaches English literature at Cambridge University.

Download & Read The Transcript

Listen to more episodes:

• A Personal History of Modern Ireland with Fintan O’Toole
• Mary Costello, ACADEMY STREET & Katha Pollitt, PRO
• Celebrating Reproductive Choice: Felicia Kornbluh, A WOMAN’S LIFE IS A HUMAN LIFE & Dolen Perkins-Valdez, TAKE MY HAND