PHOTO: AP McGrath, author and cinematographer, whose work bridges literature, philosophy, and visual storytelling.
Exploring Duty Desire And The Human Condition
AP McGrath, writer and cinematographer, reflects on blending philosophy, faith, and history in novels that probe morality, love, and truth, creating emotionally rich narratives that challenge and illuminate the human experience.
AP McGrath is a writer who draws upon a life shaped by art, philosophy, and profound personal experience. Born in Ireland and long settled in London, he has cultivated a career in film and television while nurturing his vocation for storytelling. His novels reflect not only a love of narrative but also a persistent questioning of human values, morality, and the fragile spaces where faith and doubt coexist.
In A Burning in the Darkness, McGrath confronts the stark interplay between political violence and the sanctity of belief, placing his protagonist in a crucible of moral choice that feels at once ancient and urgently modern. The novel is charged with the tension between duty and desire, underscoring how loyalty to principle can be both salvific and ruinous. It is a story that asks whether devotion to the sacred must come at the cost of the self.
His second novel, The Mystery of Healing, transports readers to the world of gladiators in the second century, where the pursuit of knowledge and the duty to heal intertwine with mystery and murder. Here, McGrath demonstrates his ability to weave meticulous historical research into an evocative narrative, capturing the contradictions of a world where brutality and compassion exist side by side.
What marks McGrath’s work is a deep attentiveness to the human condition—our yearning for goodness, our entanglement with love, and the shadows that war, loss, and faith cast upon us. His fiction is both intellectual and visceral, guided by philosophical curiosity yet firmly anchored in the textures of lived life.
In A Burning in the Darkness, how did you approach blending political intrigue with personal conflict to create a compelling narrative?
The central character, Michael, is a Roman Catholic priest who falls in love. I would describe myself as a religious sceptic but not a cynic. Faith in a higher power is real and meaningfulfor many people and I am sympathetic to this. Michael has an absolute belief in the sanctity of the Seal of Confession, where a priest cannot divulge the sin of a penitent under any circumstance, because it saved his young life when he was a witness tohorrendous killings in the political turmoil of this homeland.
In themain body of the story, he is falsely accused of murder and could save himself if he breaks the Seal of Confession, but refuses to do so.Indeed the penitent/murderer is goading him to do so; testing his faith.I want the reader to understand why Michael would remain faithful to the Seal. I don’t want the reader to ask the frustrating question: why doesn’t he simply break the Seal of Confession and save himself?
But there is a tension in Michael between a duty to the beliefs that saved his life and his denial of romantic love. We feel his sense of duty is morally and politically necessary, but also an aberration because it causes him to deny desire.
What inspired you to set A Burning in the Darkness during a time of war, and how did that influence the characters’ development?
No other animal wages war. It is a terrible indictment of the human mind and an extreme test of morality. The perpetrators of war, who often come from a position of faith,find it easy to kill because they abandonimaginative sympathy for the victims.This is the world that Michael grows up in and he wants a different world. As an adult, he wants to provide the same sanctuary he received when he was younger.But the rules of that sacred place of sanctuaryleads to a diminution of the self. Michael grows as a person as hegains a perspective on this.
Can you discuss the significance of the protagonist’s dual roles as a priest and lover in shaping the novel’s themes?
There is a tension in the novel between the idea of the Good being a value independent of us, or it being a kind of natural moral antibody, with mutations that can also harm.Michael believes it is independent of us, how does he do good by it and remain faithful to it?The place of sanctuary Michael found as a boy comes from a belief in the sanctity of every human life, but it has rules that stultify.Michael doesn’t flourishwhen he follows the rules, but when he gives space to his desires, he is forced into battle with the institution that gave him refuge.Can such a sacred placeexist without rules? There is no easy answer.
How does A Burning in the Darkness reflect your views on the intersection of faith, love, and morality?
I believe in Michael’s faith. It is a reflection of his essential goodness.It comes from direct experience, not revelation, which is oftenhollow and self-justifying. He is moved by the plight of others. Love can only be actualised when there are others to love;the people you know and care for, primarily. Yet one can’t deny the longing to place this in a bigger context. Is there an ultimate purpose to this love? The novel doesn’t dare to answer this question, but acknowledges the powerful agentialhold it has over many of us. It conditions Michael as a character.
I think Michael would argue, somewhat crudely, that the human hardware (body, brain etc.) couldn’t produce the moral software that guides and sustains us. The atoms in us are not the source of love.It must come from somewhere/someone other than usand our physical selves. Faith, love and morality, for Michael, are aspects of the same unifying thing. Yet he knows these same three words can be used to justify a murderous regime. The good can turn bad very quickly.
In A Burning in the Darkness, what role does the setting play in enhancing the story’s atmosphere and tension?
Michael is an airport chaplain in one of the world’s biggest airports.This is his parish. It is vast, cinematic and transient, and peopled by all creeds and races. Its sheer variety causes Michael to ask questions of himself and tempers his certainties.It is emotionally difficult to navigate the perplexing diversity alone. His flock is ever changing, which is isolating and underlines the lonely path he has chosen. It is also the perfect setting for a murder.
What challenges did you face in portraying the internal struggles of a character torn between duty and desire?
Quite simply, without them, Michael’s character wouldn’t exist. These are the antinomies that bring his character to life.
How do you ensure historical accuracy while maintaining narrative engagement in your novels?
Lots of research. I enjoy this as much as the writing. I self-published a second novel, entitled The Mystery Of Healing, about a doctor to the gladiators in second century Pergamon, who turns detective when his cherished medical teacher is murdered. It is loosely based on the ancient medic, Galen, who spent three years learning his craft by tending to gladiators. It is a spectacular setting for a murder mystery. Like Michael, the central character has a vocation to do good in a brutal world.
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors aiming to write compelling historical thrillers?
There is a balance to be struck between accuracy and artifice. Good storytelling demands both. I also think it’s important to get into the mind-set of your characters and not judge them by contemporary thinking. They weren’t naive.
