All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue

I like to think that the Housekeeper does that, but for protecting the vulnerable. When I developed The Housekeeper for Gifts, I loved the classic idea of a housekeeper: someone who keeps the books for a grand house, who marks the ledgers to make sure the house is budgeted for correctly. Harry and I came up with an idea of a revenge demon, and the song became a big favourite among our very tiny fan base. I was learning a lot about the tarot at the time, and the phrase ‘housekeeper card’ popped into my head. I used to be in a band, and my friend Harry and I wrote a song called “The Housekeeper Card”, the lyrics for which are in the book. The Housekeeper has been in my mind a long time. How did you come up with the name “Housekeeper” and what the card would look like? The traditional tarot already has all its set rules, names and definitions. In All Our Hidden Gifts, Maeve found an unsettling card she was not familiar with – the Housekeeper card. I’m so jealous that Roe takes to driving so quickly, when I’ve had twelve lessons and still can’t remember how mirrors work. Which character’s power do you wish you have? The characters all have their own secret power. I didn’t find any cards in there, though. Fun fact, my school had a big scary cupboard and I once had to clean it out as a punishment, too.

I wanted something that would instantly relate that it was a terrible punishment to spend all day there. I remember the Chokey being such a uniquely frightening concept, in both the book of Matilda and the film.

The tarot consultancy is set in a cupboard that is named the Chokey, which I’m sure Matilda fans such as myself all love! What’s the inspiration behind naming it after Trunchball’s torture chamber? But when you really think about it, Maeve’s tarot consultancy sparks a series of events that leads to mass destruction, a missing girl and the deaths of at least a couple of people, so maybe on balance the sex ed clinic is a better idea. On the face of it, I think you’d be more alarmed by the sex ed clinic. If you were a school principal, which clinic would you be more weirded out to find at your school? The beginning when Maeve got persuaded by Fiona to set up a secret tarot consultancy reminds me so much of the Netflix show Sex Education when Otis was encouraged to set up a sex ed clinic.

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue