Bestselling author Anya Bergman reflects on her literary influences, her process, and writing stories with women’s experiences at their core.
Anya Bergman is the internationally bestselling author of The Witches of Vardø. The Tarot Reader of Versailles is an epic tale of fate, free will, love, and betrayal set against the backdrop of the French Revolution.
Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand, the infamous Tarot Reader of Versailles, possesses a rare and mysterious power. Through her tarot cards, she can communicate with the dead, and her abilities attract both revolutionaries and the aristocracy. Though she remains loyal to Marie Antoinette and the dauphin of France, she has foreseen the queen’s tragic fate in the cards and knows she must tread carefully to avoid a similar destiny.
One day, Marie meets Cait, a spirited scullery maid from Ireland who has come to Paris for love. Like Lenormand, Cait possesses unique powers: while Lenormand can read the future, Cait can see into people’s pasts. The two young women are instantly drawn to each other’s gifts. Yet Cait hides a secret—her love for Lenormand is deep, but her loyalty to freedom and her homeland runs deeper. She dreams of bringing revolution to the shores of Ireland, and must decide who or what she will betray to achieve that vision.
Set amid the turbulence of the French Revolution and Ireland’s Great Rebellion, The Tarot Reader of Versailles blends dark folklore with tarot mysticism to create a captivating tale where fate and free will collide. Loyalties and romances hang in the balance, and the turn of a card may determine both friendship and betrayal.
Did you always want to be a writer? Tell us about your journey to becoming a published author.
What I wanted most as a little girl was independence. I didn’t know what I wanted to become but I knew I wanted to provide for myself. As I got older, I became very passionate about art, leading to a degree in History of Art. My route to writing came after I graduated when I ran a bookshop in a London college and became very friendly with the film students. I got involved writing scripts and then wrote and produced my own play.
Moving to Ireland (my mother’s homeland), I set up a theatre company Aurora with a friend, and wrote several plays, which we produced. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my son and moved to rural Co. Meath, that I began to write novels. In fact, I wrote my first novel, Beatrice, on maternity leave, and after many rewrites, it was published in 2003 under my real name Noelle Harrison.
Since then, I have had 11 novels published under Noelle, a literary erotica trilogy under the pen name Evie Blake, and The Witches of Vardø and The Tarot Reader of Versailles under the pen name Anya Bergman. I feel so fortunate to have had so many books published. There’s been lots of ups and downs, but I wouldn’t change my pathway for a minute.
What inspired you to start writing?
Right from when I was a child, I remember being frustrated that there weren’t enough stories with women as the main characters. When I was about thirteen, two experiences propelled me to want to write stories with women’s experiences at their core. I read Country Girls by Edna O’Brien, and I watched the film Picnic At Hanging Rock directed by Peter Weir. Both very different pieces of work but equally compelling in how the setting weaves a spell within the female characters’ journeys, and how it is the relationships between women which count.
Tell us about your new book, The Tarot Reader of Versailles. Where did the idea come from?
The original idea for The Tarot Reader of Versailles came from an old book my mother gave me about two women in the early twentieth century who claimed to time-travel when they visited Versailles. But as I began writing the novel, these two women faded away and other characters emerged. I became obsessed with the French Revolution and the portrayal of Marie Antoinette throughout history.
When I uncovered the story of Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand who was a real tarot reader in Paris during this time, and who played the dangerous game of reading cards for both royalists and radicals, I knew I had found one of my protagonists, especially as I read Tarot Cards myself. But another woman emerged too, a fictional character, inspired by figures such as Wolfe Tone and his fight for Irish Independence. I was fascinated by the connections between Ireland and France during the late 18th century, culminating in the Great Rebellion in 1798.
What do you hope this book instils in the reader?
I hope it excites them to look at the French Revolution and the Terror through a feminist gaze. There were so many incredible women swept up in these dramatic events from the Queen of France to radical sans-culottes and their stories have been buried under the patriarchal dominance of historical narratives. But I also hope the reader is bewitched by the love story which runs through the novel, and the folkloric and magical elements having fun experimenting with the Tarot readings woven throughout the narrative.
What did you learn when writing this book?
So much about the French Revolution and the Terror, as well as The Great Rebellion. When I researched original sources my preconceptions about historical figures such as Marie Antoinette were completely reappraised. One of the themes of the book is the question – do the means justify the ends? I thought about this a lot in the context of our contemporary world. By looking at the past, we can learn lessons for the future of humanity.
Tell us about your writing process?
It’s important that my novels are authentic so I do spend a lot of time researching both primary and secondary historical sources. I also go on research trips which really helps me see the characters in situ and immerse myself in my story world. For instance, when I went to Paris, I walked the route Marie Antoinette would have taken to her execution site which helped me imagine how it would have really been for someone watching this event. I also collect talismans on my research trips and pictures to plaster my office with to take me back in time.
I do give myself a deadline for research as I could go on forever. Alongside research, I do quite a bit of pre-writing developing characters, their motivations and making a rough plan of the main beats of the story. Once I start writing, I go quite fast for the first draft as if I start editing along the way I get the fear, and it blocks me. I don’t show anyone this draft! Once I’ve finished the first draft, I rewrite, crafting language and characterisation and making structural changes. Then it’s time to show it to my editor!
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I am obsessed with history podcasts such as The Rest is History, which often provide me with ideas about the lives of incredible women in the past I might write about. I also find music and art very inspirational as they open my mind up to creativity in other ways than reading or watching films or TV. Nature is big for me. Walking, thinking, walking always brings me something.
What are your top three favourite books of all time, and why?
This is an impossible question to answer because my favourites change all the time. But books which have had an unforgettable impact on me are Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier for its compelling narration and how it challenges reader empathy, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent and its dark icy tale set in the past which gave me the confidence to write The Witches of Vardø and The Night Watch by Sarah Waters for its innovative structure and touching across time with queer stories from the past.
Who are some of your favourite authors, Irish or otherwise?
My top favourite author is Isabel Allende, whom I was lucky enough to meet, and who was even more inspirational in the flesh. I love her blending of historical fiction with magic realism, and I also love Hannah Kent whose stories are so exquisitely written and evocative. My favourite Irish authors right now are Catherine Prasifka, Aoife Fitzpatrick, Amanda Geard and Sinead Moriarty.
What are some upcoming book releases we should have on our radar?
My top tip for this summer is the fabulous Love, Sex and Frankenstein by Caroline Lea. I was completely hooked by this passionate retelling of Mary Shelley’s dark, difficult summer with Shelley and Byron in Switzerland.
I am also very much looking forward to C.J. Cooke’s The Last Witch which is coming out in October 2025. All her books are powerful gothic experiences, and this one is inspired by a real witch hunt in the past.
What book made you want to become a writer?
I think it would have to be Edna O’Brien’s Country Girls. I became completely obsessed with the series as a teenager and began dreaming about writing books at this stage.
What’s one book you would add to the school curriculum?
I think we need to have at least one novel on the school curriculum which touches on the period of witch trials in Europe in the Modern European era. This was a period of over 350 years when tens of thousands of people (85% of whom were women) were persecuted and executed for witchcraft. It shocks me that it is barely touched upon in schools despite the clear parallels with modern day politics and societal prejudices and persecutions. In terms of the Irish school curriculum, I would pick Molly Aitken’s Bright I Burn which is a powerful retelling of the persecution of Alice Kyteler in 14th century Kilkenny.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
Oh, this is very hard as I have read so many brilliant books. As already mentioned, I loved Love, Sex and Frankenstein by Caroline Lea. Another big favourite was The Morrigan by Kim Curran, a compelling reimagining of Celtic mythology.
What’s some advice you’ve got for other aspiring writers?
Be patient and enjoy the process. So much in our world today is goal driven and this can make the experience of writing stressful when it should be joyful. I used to be a full-time author but it’s become impossible to make a living from writing solely.
However, the upside of this is that it’s taken the pressure off my creative work. I am now enjoying the creative process of writing a book more again knowing that I can focus on the characters and story without worrying so much if I can pay the bills (having said the imposter syndrome never goes away!)
Writing is an anxious profession, and we need thick skins because not everyone is going to like your book… or even notice it! So, whenever I feel wobbly, I just try to focus on the creative spark and be grateful I have the opportunity to share my stories. Being a writer takes tenacity and patience because nothing happens quickly, but it’s so worth the wait!
Lastly, what do the acts of reading and writing mean to you?
As the world becomes more technologically driven and we all are increasingly addicted to our smart phones and social media, I believe the acts of reading a print book and writing by hand in a journal (both of which I still do) become acts of healing, space and stillness in a rushing world. They allow us to investigate our thoughts and emotions through the prisms of stories, and by physically writing in a journal or notebook I believe we express our imaginations in a more free, less censored way. With the threat of AI destroying so many creatives’ lives, the physical act of reading and writing is also political by choosing to read books written by real writers, and by writing books the long, hard way!
The Tarot Reader of Versailles by Anya Bergman (€16.99, Manilla) is on sale now.
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