By definition, historical fiction is a mix of the real and the realistic. In what proportions? Each writer must arrive at the blend that best serves her purposes. Here’s my approach in writing the Julia Kydd novels. The 1920s are one of the best known and most important eras … [Read more...]
A Private Press of One’s Own
The heroine of my historical mysteries, Julia Kydd, boasts a slight acquaintance with the great modernist writer Virginia Woolf. In Relative Fortunes, we learn that she persuaded Woolf to let her publish her four-page single-sentence essay titled “Wednesday.” Julia then … [Read more...]
Poems from the Balcony, Then and Now
Jazz out of an open window. Poems from the balcony. We’ve all seen the images of quarantined Italians sharing their solitude across deserted courtyards and empty streets from facing buildings. Some play a saxophone or piano, some join in spontaneous choirs of popular or patriotic … [Read more...]
1918: Mary McCarthy’s Personal Pandemic
As we all hunker down for COVID-19—from Seattle to Boston, South Africa to Switzerland—we’re haunted by stories of a similarly frightening influenza pandemic that swept the globe in 1918, just over a century ago. For Mary McCarthy, an important American novelist, essayist, and … [Read more...]
Taking Her Seriously: Bookwoman Beatrice Warde
Women’s History Month is far too short to celebrate all the important women who have helped shape our modern book culture. Authors, of course, but I’m thinking especially of women printers, publishers, typographers, illustrators, graphic designers, librarians, booksellers, … [Read more...]
