Archival Interview: Emma Donoghue

It’s Emma Donoghue week here at my wee blog. Why? Because I think she’s great. She’s been one of my favorite authors for awhile, and her new book, Life Mask, is probably going to be my very favorite book of 2004. She’s also a delightful person. She’s crazy smart—boundlessly curious and wonderfully imaginative—and friendly and funny.

I begin with an interview conducted in 2001, when Donoghue’s novel Slammerkin was published. Slammerkin is the story of a murderous young prostitute, set in the 18th century. It’s brilliant: salacious and sanguinary but also exceedingly clever and slyly feminist. Mary Saunders, the novel’s central character, is based on a real person, and Slammerkin was Donoghue’s first work of historical fiction. She has some interesting things to say about turning facts into fiction, and about finding contemporary resonances in the past. Check out the interview for our discussion of unlikeable heroines and antique condoms, and come back tomorrow for more Emma Donoghue.

MORE EMMA DONOGHUE
Interview, Part One
Interview, Part Two
Review of Kissing the Witch
Review of Passions Between Women

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Archival Interview: Emma Donoghue

It’s Emma Donoghue week here at my wee blog. Why? Because I think she’s great. She’s been one of my favorite authors for awhile, and her new book, Life Mask, is probably going to be my very favorite book of 2004. She’s also a delightful person. She’s crazy smart—boundlessly curious and wonderfully imaginative—and friendly and funny.

I begin with an interview conducted in 2001, when Donoghue’s novel Slammerkin was published. Slammerkin is the story of a murderous young prostitute, set in the 18th century. It’s brilliant: salacious and sanguinary but also exceedingly clever and slyly feminist. Mary Saunders, the novel’s central character, is based on a real person, and Slammerkin was Donoghue’s first work of historical fiction. She has some interesting things to say about turning facts into fiction, and about finding contemporary resonances in the past. Check out the interview for our discussion of unlikeable heroines and antique condoms, and come back tomorrow for more Emma Donoghue.

MORE EMMA DONOGHUE
Interview, Part One
Interview, Part Two
Review of Kissing the Witch
Review of Passions Between Women