Helen Dale – Favourite Things
Helen Dale is an Australian lawyer, author and journalist living in London. She won the Miles Franklin Award for her first novel, The Hand that Signed the Paper, and read law at Oxford and Edinburgh University. Her most recent novel, Kingdom of the Wicked, was shortlisted for the Prometheus Prize for science fiction. She writes for several outlets, including The Spectator, The Australian, Standpoint, and CapX. She also has a weekly spot (every Thursday) on TalkRADIO with Mike Graham, and is Senior Writer for Law & Liberty.
These are a few of Helen Dale’s favourite things.
Classics
Most people know me for legal commentary, but I started out in life as a classicist (yes, like Boris, but more Rome than Greece). It was always plain to me that classics conferred the ability to translate school mottoes and read copious quantities of Roman smut, hence going into a profession that would pay the bills. However, at least for me, classics didn’t stay in the “non-monetary” column. My two most recent novels, Kingdom of the Wicked Book I: Rules and Kingdom of the Wicked Book II: Order are speculative fiction looking at what the world would look like if the pagan Romans had undergone an industrial revolution (they did, in fact, come quite close). Of course, this meant retaining their distinctive, non-Christian morality, which for all their seeming modernity was very different from our own. The books sold well, although my author’s post-bag was full of correspondence from people who wanted to live in the world I’d created, which I found rather alarming.
Chilli
I can’t put “cats” in this category, because the cat I’m most fond of is Chilli, about whom I often tweet. She is a dilute tortie British Shorthair my partner and I rescued via Cats’ Protection at the end of 2016. Before Chilli, the only cats with which I’d had much contact were farm cats, kept for managing vermin. They weren’t particularly friendly. We were a dog and horses family; my niece keeps up the family tradition by being an outstanding horsewoman (dressage, eventing). Chilli, however, is a small, fluffy delight. She is best known on Twitter for her thunderously loud purring. People have asked whether she’s a huge cat (no, she’s only 4kg) or whether I somehow amplify the purrs (no, I lack the technical skill – she’s just loud). I try to put up a purring video at least once a week and always participate in #Caturday.
Comedy
I lived and worked in Edinburgh for a bit over four years and became very familiar with the Edinburgh Fringe for that reason. This was helped by living in Grassmarket, right in the middle of the Old Town. I watched a lot of comedy over the years and learnt to tell the difference between good, bad, and indifferent sets. I also started to notice the encroachment of what I suppose you’d call “wokery” on the world of comedy; the last year I attended was less funny than previous years. Covid permitting, I’m looking forward to heading back to London once a month so I can attend Comedy Unleashed, Andrew Doyle & Andy Shaw’s Bethnal Green club.
Conservatism
Some of you will no doubt stop reading now, but unlike a lot of Tories, I don’t have a problem with being a Tory. This doesn’t mean I agree with the Sainted Boris (or anyone else in the Cabinet or elsewhere for that matter) on everything. One of the reasons I’m a conservative (as well as a Conservative) is that both the tradition and the Party have more scope for lively internal disagreement without it becoming mad and internecine like Labour’s infights do. I mean, even Brexit couldn’t kill the Tory Party (despite, at times, it being a near-death experience). I also genuinely think a lot of left ideas are frankly barmy, and it’s the job of conservatives (whether in the party or not) to keep people who are as nutty as a bag of trail mix out of power.
Nuance
I wanted to give Reaction five favourite “c” things but failed at the final jump. Nuance is what I try to achieve in all my non-fiction writing: whether legal analysis, political commentary or reporting. I don’t always succeed, but I hate making mistakes or leaving out background information. I don’t like the feeling of going back to read my old columns and being embarrassed by them. This doesn’t mean I have a problem with changing my mind: present Helen often disagrees with past Helen. But I don’t like making a fool of myself through lack of research.