Books - David Hatton

David Hatton’s latest novel: Camp

Lancashire author, David Hatton, talks to us about growing up in Lancashire and his latest novel, Camp, which explores LGBTQ+ experiences in the Holocaust.

Ifirst became interested in the Holocaust at school when we studied it in GCSE History. In 2007, I visited some of the concentration camps across Poland with university. Since then I’ve always wanted to write a novel on that period of history but the right story never came along. And then it hit me that we often hear about the Jewish victims, but little about LGBTQ+ experience.

Camp begins in the year 1925 and follows the story of George Taylor who has left Britain to move to the gay capital of Europe: Berlin. Back then Germany was a very liberal place, and whilst it was technically still illegal to be gay, the laws were very relaxed. Those unfortunate enough to be caught by the police were typically given a warning or at most a fine. But George’s freedoms come under threat as the Nazis make gains across the country, and their leader, Adolf Hitler, is determined to punish homosexuals across the land. Nobody could foresee the horrors he had planned for George and his friends.

The book doesn’t aim to overlook or take away anything away from the Jewish experiences. How could it? Six million Jews died throughout that period of history. And it does explore those Jewish experiences who of course make appearances throughout the book, whether they were George’s friends in Berlin or his campmates at Dachau. Instead this book simply tries to shed light on a different story, a road less travelled, as many of those LGBTQ+ stories have been lost. Even in literature and film, there are limited references to the LGBTQ+ experiences. Thankfully there were a couple of textbooks which helped me build my understanding, which are referenced in my novel.

Researching the background for the book was quite challenging. There are few LGBTQ+ stories out there and limited information on their experiences. This was due to the Nazis destroying a lot of the records from that time. Many who survived went onto serve further sentences as gay liberation didn’t come until much later, in most cases the victims had died having never told their stories as they remained in the closet throughout their lives.

It was quite humbling reading the experiences which I did find. As a gay man myself, I’m so glad to grow up in a country which today is mostly accepting of LGBTQ+ people, although I think we have a long way to go on supporting our trans friends as transphobia has risen for those under that umbrella. I got to meet the love of my life, also called David, and get on with things. Many people before me didn’t. I don’t have to look left or right before entering a gay bar like George does in my novel.

I grew up in Preston. My parents always encouraged my thirst to write and are the biggest promoters of my books. I don’t think anyone gets past them without being told about my novels. I studied at St Andrews Primary School, where my teacher read out my stories every week; I sent her my first book when it was published, she was delighted. I then went onto secondary school where the writing took a backstep until I was living in Chicago and the thirst to write was reborn. It began with a travel blog and soon led to me penning my first two novels, although it would be ten years before I dared release them.

All of David’s novels, including his latest book, Camp, are available to buy as paperback or e-books on Amazon worldwide.

I studied at Leeds Metropolitan University (today Beckett) who received a donation to take a handful of students to see the concentration camps and I’m so blessed that I was chosen to visit. It truly does give you a sense of perspective. The one thing which struck me was how horrendously cold it was in November (when I visited) and I was wrapped up in a nice warm coat, hat and gloves. I can’t imagine how the victims coped in the dead of winter. It also inspired this novel. It is so hard to imagine that this happened within my grandparents’ lifetimes; there are still survivors amongst us. I think if anything the book will show how quickly a country can change from religious and sexual freedoms to suddenly becoming a nation which imprisons or even murders people who do not fit in with their agenda. The right winged wave across Europe, including Britain, is deeply worrying. I’m so glad Germany came out the other side to become a truly remarkable and free place to explore and live.

This is the fifth novel. My debut book came out in 2018 called The Return, which follows the story of Beverly Hahn who discovers her husband, who was presumed dead in the 9/11 attacks, is still alive and had faked his death to claim on the insurance. She has to navigate through the pain his return has caused for their family and friends, as well as the fury of New Yorkers.

My second novel, The Medium, is a murder mystery whereby a psychic medium claims to know the whereabouts of an atheist’s missing wife, whilst he struggles between his belief in science and the determination to find the love of his life.

My third novel, The Catfish, puts the spotlight on vigilantes and predator hunter groups as someone with a development disorder is caught up in an online trap. And finally my fourth novel, The Exhumation, which came out last year, also delves into historic fiction as a detective tries to hunt down the stolen body of Abraham Lincoln.

My editor, who has read most of my work, fed back that Camp is my magnum opus. I sure hope the readers agree. It’s the book I’m most proud of and came the easiest to me; the characters and the plot just leaked out of me, I couldn’t write it down fast enough. But more than anything, I hope everyone will take away something from the book; it’s a part of an unexplored history and I hope everyone learns something new, even if it’s just a snippet. I share a few survivor stories at the end so that their stories live on and we can ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.