O’Brien told the duchess how she penned the story out of loneliness.
“It did cause a bit of commotion, to put it mildly. People were very offended and my family were ashamed, and I had betrayed my country and a lot of tosh,” she said.
“But at the time it hurt very much. People say to me, ‘how could you have written that book?’
“And I said, ‘I have to tell you, I didn’t think there was anything offensive in it. I wrote it out of a loneliness’.”
As well as Girl, the other books chosen by Camilla for season two of her Reading Room are: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain, and The Secret Commonwealth from The Book Of Dust trilogy by Philip Pullman.
The Duchess described O’Brien as “brave” during their conversation, which took place in the Morning Room of Clarence House and is expected to be posted on Instagram at the end of this week.
Girl is a harrowing imagined depiction of the life of a woman abducted and married into the terrorist organization Boko Haram and was written after O’Brien traveled to Nigeria to speak with schoolgirls who escaped such abduction about their real experiences. When Camilla recommended the title to her book club, she described O Brien as brilliant and the novel as harrowing.
“I wanted to ask you a few questions about why did you decide to write about that subject?” the Duchess asked O’Brien, to which the author replied that the “impulse or the compulsion” was “obviously brewing inside me having read about the capture.”
Camilla praises very brave author Edna O Brien for tackling book s subject sthelensstar.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sthelensstar.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Duchess of Cornwall has showcased a stunning golden bracelet featuring heart charms, which is thought to have been a gift from the Prince of Wales for their 16th anniversary.
Camilla, 73, wore the shimmering jewellery in a new video and portrait released to mark the second season of her online book club, The Reading Room, which highlights different authors and novels through Instagram.
The duchess recycled her navy and white pleated dress by Fiona Clare for the occasion and also appeared to be wearing a new bracelet, thought to be an anniversary present from Prince Charles, according to 9Honey.
Charles and Camilla marked 16 years of marriage on April 9, but there were no celebrations considering it was also the day Prince Philip died, aged 99.