Madeleine Norton
Bio
Translator and writer repped by Rosie Pierce at Curtis Brown Books đ
WIP longlisted for Womenâs Prize Discoveries 2023 đȘ©
https://linktr.ee/madeleine.norton
Stories (6)
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Why Did I Care?. Top Story - July 2022.
The 2022 UEFA Womenâs EURO competition has set attendance and viewing records. Itâs been accompanied by a commendable and long-needed rise in campaigning against misogyny and online abuse, including Not Her Problem and Her Game Too. These are fantastic strides in the right direction, and send an overwhelmingly positive message to future generations of players and fans, of any gender, that they are welcome participants in the worldâs most popular sport. Itâs wonderful to see how far weâve come in respecting women as athletes. But this progress also serves as a stark reminder to me of my participation in a shameful culture of holding women back.
By Madeleine Norton3 years ago in Cleats
Why Are We Still Doing This?
Growing up, I often heard the expression âwoman beaterâ. It was said of certain neighbours or of other men my family knew. The frequency with which it was used was, on reflection, concerning. What has become as worrying, with time, is the fact that it was the tip of a euphemistic blade that hid so much more. The expression, which described the cold, hard fact that a man physically abused women, was the closest anyone came to the truth. More often than not, when the adults in my life spoke of these men, they would sanitise the violence. Whether for their own benefit or that of the perpetrators, I donât know. Tom down the road âknocked his wife aboutâ; Dick would âcome home and give his wife a slapâ; Harry's wife would occasionally âwake up black and blueâ, as if she were a tie-dyed shirt that had simply changed colour overnight. Nobody, of course, did anything about it. It didnât occur to me until recently that society, or at least the one in which I grew up, had been so willing to adapt its vocabulary to male violence.
By Madeleine Norton3 years ago in Families
West by East
Digby wakes as his head crashes into the cognac cabinet. He scrambles to his feet. Blinking, he raises his fists and waits for his vision to adjust. Heâs alone. What he thought was his masterâs study is actually a small carriage, the cabinet its panelling. The [redacted] whoâd forced their way into the house at midnight, mouths set and expressions grim, have disappeared.
By Madeleine Norton3 years ago in Fiction
Why Are You Telling Me This?
(Content warnings: food, diet, weight loss, body image) A female friend once remarked that she was envious of men for their ability to strike up a conversation with other men â at almost any social event and at any level of acquaintance â about football. It got me thinking: do women have an equivalent?
By Madeleine Norton3 years ago in Humans
Why Are You Still Watching That Crap?. Top Story - July 2022.
âWhy are you still watching that shit?â If you watch Love Island, youâll be familiar with this refrain from people who donât watch it, and imagine themselves to be more intelligent for their abstinence. If youâre someone who just doesnât like it, fair enough. Love Island is absolutely not to everybodyâs taste. But whatâs really annoying is people who criticise it just to try and look clever. Thereâs more to it than you realise.
By Madeleine Norton4 years ago in Humans
Love grows still
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Ah, I see the corners of your mouth twitch. You think yourself familiar with tales of this nature, but I fear I must disappoint you. Come closer, that you might hear me better. The wind blows with ill will, tonight, and we would do well to stay near each other. I feel it pulling at my words, seeking to carry them to those who would despise our presence here, those who would stop me telling their secrets.
By Madeleine Norton4 years ago in Fiction
