Check out Marni Graff’s thoughtful new interview with me about Passing Fancies, my new historical mystery, which is officially out next week. The interview is posted today on Marni’s blog, Auntie M Writes. It explains a bit about why I chose the Jazz Age as the setting for my Julia Kydd novels, as well as why I feel so deeply about some of the story elements, particularly Julia’s encounter with the power dynamics beneath what we now call the Harlem Renaissance.
Marni adds her own generous review of Passing Fancies, praising Julia’s growth as a character as she begins to settle into her new life in Manhattan. Marni also writes:
Benn captures the era perfectly, and dazzles readers with the clothes, food, and excesses. She also takes a good hard look at the class and racial divides of the times, which still echo today.
Her last comment gives me a chill. As our country writhes in grief and anger over yet another black person’s death at the hands of the police, its awful truth could not be more damning. Nearly a hundred years later, the things that shocked and sickened Julia are still happening, and millions of white people barely notice or care. I fervently hope that those in power finally listen seriously to the anguish and make ground-breaking changes to ensure dignity and justice for all Americans. Or racism will destroy us all.
