Madam is my debut, but in truth it is my third novel. I wrote two novels in my twenties, the first was during my years at university, it was an experiment but I grew proud of it – an arrogant notion, since it was a pile of crap. The second was written midway through my teaching career, where I rewrote a traumatising experience I’d had. Both were fiction, with touches of the truth, but far too much…