New Madonna Interview by the Times
In the desert with Madonna
The star’s latest book is an Arabian adventure: here we publish an exclusive extract, learn the story behind the fantastical illustrations and offer a rare glimpse into Mrs Ritchie’s private world
Can you tell us something about the inspiration for The Adventures of Abdi?
This book was inspired by a combination of things. I have always loved the backdrop and setting of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and One Thousand and One Arabian Nights so I wanted to write a story in that genre. In this setting I wanted to explain the Kabbalistic principle of certainty, the idea that we can overcome all obstacles and challenges in our lives if we perceive them as blessings and not curses; if we accept that they have arrived in our lives to teach us something valuable.
What were your favourite books as a child?
Charlotte’s Web, The Giving Tree, The Little Prince, Pippi Longstocking, and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Do you read some of those childhood favourites to your own children?
Yes, all of them.
What are Lola’s and Rocco’s favourite books at the moment?
Lola’s are Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park, Wayside School by Louis Sachar and Tom-Tom & Nana by Jacqueline Cohen.
Rocco’s are Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and Les Schtroumpfs.
What do your children think of the books you have written?
They love them, but The English Roses is Lola’s favourite as she was very involved in its creation.
Is there a bedtime story ritual in your house?
Yes, my children go to the Lycée so they get French and English books read to them. When I read to my son, my French nanny is reading to my daughter, then we switch. Although my daughter is getting to the point where she likes only to read by herself so she reads aloud to me.
What do you feel is the role of stories and books in children’s lives?
Stories and books are everything. They were very important to me as a child and were instrumental in developing my imagination. I feel very fortunate that my children love books as much as they do.
Do you think you will continue to write after this series?
Yes, I have already written a sequel to The English Roses.
Have you any thoughts about writing for adults?
Well I have thought about it, but that is a much tougher crowd. Ask me again in a few years.
How does the process of writing books compare with writing song lyrics?
At this point in my life I have written so many songs and they tell only a part of a story. I find the process of writing books much more rewarding, as there is a beginning, middle and an end.
You live mainly in England with your family; can you describe your perfect day out with your children in London?
A perfect day always includes going to Hyde Park riding bikes, feeding the ducks, having a treat at the little restaurant on the lake and a trip to Bramley’s Big Adventure. Lola loves ice skating at Somerset House and Rocco loves the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.
What else would you recommend?
Tate Britain on Sunday afternoon has a children’s day to do artwork and they like the Puppet Barge on the Thames.
What is the one best thing you have all enjoyed and why?
Our favourite thing to do together as a family that we all enjoy is going to our country house. My children really come alive there, feeding chickens, taking care of the horse, picking flowers and spending time outside in nature. I realise that this is not in London but it is our favourite thing to do.
Where do you shop with them?
The children’s sections of Selfridges and Harrods.
Where do you take your children to eat in London?
Guy and I rarely take our children out to dinner as we rarely go out to dinner. But they go to the Blue Kangaroo a lot with their grandfather.
Do you worry about children and safety in London?
Not really. We take the normal precautions. but I would say we feel very safe here.
You also have a home in LA. How child friendly is London by comparison?
Extremely. There is so much to do for children here.
Abdi and the king
Abdi is a young apprentice to a jeweller, Eli. He is sent on a long journey to deliver a precious necklace, commissioned for the Queen’s birthday. He hitches a ride with a caravan of Bedouins, but at night, while Abdi sleeps, two men steal the necklace, substituting a snake in its place . . .
Abdi arrived at the palace. Many guards stood in front of the gate. One was very tall and carried many large swords.
Abdi stepped forward to speak to him, and in a timid voice he said, I am here to see the king.
The guard tipped his head back to face the sky and laughed. And when he looked down he said in a very deep voice, And why would the king want to see you?
To this Abdi replied,I have brought a very special necklace for the Queen.
There was a great murmuring among the guards, and the tall one disappeared for what seemed like an eternity. Abdi hopped from foot to foot, anxious to deliver the gift and even more anxious to find a bathroom. Finally, the guard returned and Abdi was allowed to enter the palace gates.
They were not expecting a boy, grumbled the guard. Follow me.
Abdi entered the palace and could not believe his eyes. There was a large courtyard inlaid with gold, and in the centre was a shallow pool where tall pink birds stood on one leg. Children splashed round the edges of the pool, laughing and playing, and no one shouted at them. Servants scurried around carrying large platters of delicious-looking fruit. On a beautifully woven rug in the middle of the room sat a lovely girl playing a lute and singing songs that Abdi had never heard before. He could not take his eyes off her.
Keep up! barked the guard.
Everything Abdi saw made his head turn. Finally, they reached a big door. The guard asked him to wait and, once again, he disappeared. Abdi looked up and saw small furry animals with big eyes hanging from the ceiling.
Just as he was about to run and find a bathroom, the guard returned and announced, The king wishes to see you.
Abdi gulped. He had not thought that he was actually going to meet the king. He was very nervous.
But, he said to himself, I am sure it is all for the best.
Abdi entered a large room that looked as if it had been dipped in gold. He approached the throne.
The king looked at the little boy and frowned. Who might you be? And where is the jeweller? Did he not want to meet the king?
The king sounded very grumpy, but Abdi spoke up. My name is Abdi, Your Majesty. It is not what you think. The jeweller is an old man, and he has not slept in weeks because he has been working so hard to make your necklace in time. He was not strong enough to travel the long distance, so I have brought the gift instead.
Well, bring it forth and be quick about it, commanded the king.
Abdi placed the gift at the foot of the throne, and a servant of the king knelt to hand it to him. The king opened the box and a snake fell out on to his lap.
What sort of trickery is this? the king shouted, dropping the snake to floor.
Abdi was in shock. He tried to explain. I do not know what happened, Your Majesty. When I left my village I was carrying the most beautiful necklace in the world.
Arrest the boy and throw him in the dungeon. And let him keep his precious gift! shouted the king as he stormed out of the great hall.
The Adventures of Abdi (Puffin; offer £10.39 from Times Books First: 0870 1608080)
My advice? Be curious, like Madonna . . .’
The Russian artist Andrej Dugin had just finished creating artworks for the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when a call came through from an American publisher inviting him to illustrate a much-anticipated children’s picture book.
Dugin said no, he would not be taking on any more work. He was exhausted, his back hurt and he was retiring from illustration. His wife and collaborator, Olga, was under contract to a German publisher; Dugin was sorry but neither of them would be available.
Some time before this, the publisher Nicholas Callaway found himself in the New York home of one of his most valuable authors, Madonna Ritchie. Between them on a table lay several books including one illustrated by the Danish artist Kay Nielsen. The meeting was to decide on the right style for Madonna’s latest children’s book, The Adventures of Abdi, set in the desert sands and palaces of a distant, exotic land. The singer loved Nielsen’s illustrations:
He is perfect, she said, let’s hire him. Callaway was sorry to disappoint her, but Nielsen was not available; he died in 1937. Thus began the search for a talent that could match Nielsen; when Callaway saw Dugin and Olga’s work, he knew he had found it. But how to persuade Dugin to come out of retirement? In the end it took only one word. When we heard the name of the author, we said yes, after all we will do it, says Dugin. Madonna is maybe the only name that could bring me out of my cell. Such a worldwide audience; we couldn’t resist to show what we could do.
And so began many long hours in the Dugins’ studio creating a meticulous, fantastical series of plates, each one taking up to four months to complete I am very slow, says Dugin.
The couple research and discuss ideas together, then Dugin does the concept and composition and Olga paints. Our life is really very boring, says Dugin apologetically. We start work early, we dine together, we work on into the evening and we drink together. We rarely see other people. Olga says that towards the end of the project they worked around the clock to meet the deadline. Andrej would do 12 hours while I slept and then I would take over. It was a horrible time.
Callaway says that the Dugins are artists rather than illustrators: They carry the work further. It is a symbiosis; Yin and Yang. What they do is create a fabulist world for the story to exist in, adding secondary characters and subplots As well as illustrating the book, we tell the story that was not told, says Dugin.
As an artist in pre-glasnost Russia, Dugin chose to be a children’s illustrator, because it was the only possibility to be creative; otherwise you could do only social realist propaganda to glorify Lenin. He and Olga left Russia to settle in Germany We could be more free there.
He is 49 now, and at the pinnacle of his career. What advice would he give a young artist starting out? Be curious, like Madonna. Keep changing and be ready for change.
Jane Wheatley