Celia Bell ’09

Celia Bell ’09 has been writing since her days in Bryn Mawr’s Lower School, when she let her imagination fill her notebook with children’s stories. Now she is preparing for the publication of her debut novel, The Disenchantment, which will be released in May 2023 by Pantheon Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Billed as “a rousing feminist fable,” Publishers Weekly calls the book “a bold and inspired mix of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Crucible.”

While pursuing her MFA from the New Writers Project at the University of Texas, Celia took a seminar on fairy tales, which deepened her interest in Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, a 17th century French author known for popularizing the term “fairy tales.” It was there that Celia realized one of her childhood books was written by d’Aulnoy; the lifelong connection is the inspiration behind The Disenchantments main character, Marie Catherine.

In writing this piece of historical fiction, Celia wanted to combine her imagination with a vivid, fact-based story. She extensively researched 17th Century France, taking her cues from author Marlon James, who she once heard share that he feels “insecure about starting to write if I don’t know how everyone brushed their teeth.”She took that sentiment to heart. During research, “you start to understand their world from the inside and what is possible,” she said. 

The manuscript of The Disenchantment went out to publishers in February 2020—just a few weeks before the world came to a screeching halt. The first months of lockdown passed with no news on the novel. “I shouldn’t admit it, but I was in the car when I got the email from my agent that the manuscript had been accepted for publication,” she said. “I had to pull over to read it, and I was so happy I cried in the grocery store.”

Although Celia had previously written and published short stories,  her debut novel required a shift in writing and understanding the art form itself.  She considers short stories to be more like a painting, or a moment in time. “A novel feels more like listening to a piece of classical music, where one of the dimensions is time,” she said. “

 “You have this opportunity to create the world in which your characters are living - to go much deeper and come up with much more complexity.”

Her advice for aspiring authors is to “read a lot and read widely. Your experience is part of what goes into writing, but also it’s helpful to have a sense for language and have a sense for style,” she said. “I also think it’s valuable as you are sitting down to write that you are considering what matters to you about a story.  If you can find something that speaks to you and moves you to care about something, that’s what will make your writing really live.”

Celia will be in Baltimore at The Ivy Bookshop on May 25 for a book signing, she will also be on a tour around Texas.  

The Disenchantment is available for preorder:

Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711634/the-disenchantment-by-celia-bell/