Interview with Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg. Author of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules

SYNOPSIS

79-year-old Martha Andersson dreams of escaping her care home and robbing a bank.

She has no intention of spending the rest of her days in an armchair and is determined to fund her way to a much more exciting lifestyle. Along with her four oldest friends - otherwise known as the League of Pensioners - Martha decides to rebel against all of the rules imposed upon them. Together, they cause uproar with their antics protesting against early bedtimes and plasticky meals.

As the elderly friends become more daring, they hatch a cunning plan to break out of the dreary care home and land themselves in a far more attractive Stockholm establishment. With the aid of their Zimmer frames, they resolve to stand up for old aged pensioners everywhere - Robin Hood style. And that's when the adventure really takes off . . .

INTERVIEW

1. How would you describe The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules? 

 

It is a book about five people, all over 70, who become tired of the way society treats them. They leave their care home in a bid to launch new careers as thieves because they have noticed that prisoners are treated better in jail than the elderly in old people´s homes!

 

2. Why did you decide to write about a group of friends living in a care home?

I get so frustrated when I read about harsh savings on elderly care. These older people have built today’s society and made it possible for many of us to have a good life. But then when they are ‘past it’ they are treated very badly. This is just not on. So while this book is full of humour, it is also a strong protest against a society that has forgotten human values. I wanted to highlight this issue and make people think about the care of elderly citizens.

 

3. Who is your favourite character in the League of Pensioners?

Actually, I love them all. Martha is my central character, of course, and I identify with her, but I like Brains very much, too, as well as Anna-Greta, Christina and Rake. So, you see, it is difficult to single out just one of them . . .

 

4. Can you see yourself becoming like Martha as you grow older?

Yes, or perhaps I might be even more outrageous! But I’d like to think that I would eat more healthily – and not steal so much!

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules is available from Amazon UK and Waterstones