So19 Interviews: JULIE DOBROW on LOVE AND LOSS AFTER WOUNDED KNEE

I'm delighted to be able to speak with Julie Dobrow about her new book, Love and Loss After Wounded Knee: A Biography of an Extraordinary Interracial Marriage, which appeared from the New York University Press on November 4. Some of you will know Julie from So19's interview with her about her last volume, After Emily: Two Remarkable Women—And the Legacy of America's Greatest Poet. Julie is the director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Tufts University, where she also holds faculty positions in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, the Film and Media Studies Program and the Civic Studies Program. She's also one of the creators of Half The History, which aims to change the under-representation of women (particularly but not exclusively women of color and those from marginalized groups) in biographies and other stories. You can visit Julie's website for more about the author and her work, including links to some of the articles she's published about this book, which appear at the bottom of the site's book page.  Love and Loss After Wounded Knee is out and available for sale on all major platforms, including Amazon.com and Bookshop.org; you can also order it directly from the NYU Press. All that said, here's our chat. —SF

So19: Charles Eastman and Elaine Goodale, the subjects of your book, are fascinating figures, but neither is well known today. Tell us when and how you first learned of them and also how that awareness led to this book.

Dobrow: I first learned about Elaine and Charles the summer after my junior year of college. I had a job in the Sophia Smith women’s history archive where they had received a new tranche of papers from the Goodale-Eastman-Dayton family. My job was to start organizing these papers. And from the yellowed newspaper clippings, old letters and faded photographs, this remarkable story literally sprang off the pages. I was fascinated! During my senior year, I wrote a thesis about the life of Elaine Goodale Eastman, who I viewed, somewhat naively, as this amazing woman who learned the language of the Native American students she taught, traveled to the Dakota Territory in the 1880s, and seemed to have such progressive ideas about race, education, and gender roles. At the time I felt that I knew something about Elaine, but very little about Charles, and I thought he was intriguing, too.

After college, I wrote a couple of articles about Elaine but then moved on to other topics. And yet I felt I wasn’t done with this story. Not yet.

The Nineteen List, Halloween Edition: FRANKENSTEIN illustrated and reinvented

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or, A Modern Prometheus became a much discussed and adapted cultural icon surprisingly soon after its initial anonymous publication in 1818. Here, in no particular order, I've gathered some reinventions of the novel ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.

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1. The 1831 edition of Mary Shelley's novel was printed with illustrations and published under her name for the first time. The artist (uncredited, as far as I can tell) who created this frontispiece has given the Monster an impressive six-pack and Frankenstein a lovely leaded window.

The Internet Archive

2. This 1843 lithograph by John Doyle, who published his art as HB., is titled "A New Illustration of the Story: Frankenstein" and conveys the supposed dangers of Daniel O'Connell's efforts to repeal the 1800 Act of Union, which united the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. O'Connell is depicted hovering on the brink of a precipice in the face of an advancing giant brandishing a Phrygian cap with the banners "repeal," "separation," and "anarchy." 

Wellcome Collection

So19 Interviews: CHRIS NICKSON on A RAGE OF SOULS

With the publication of A Rage of Souls, British historical mystery writer and friend of So19 brings his Simon Westow mystery series to a close. Kirkus Reviews gives the novel deservedly high praise, calling it a “first-rate, complex mystery that delves deeply into the many social injustices of the time.” Here, So19 talks with Nickson about bring the Westow novels to a close, the harsh realities of life in the period they depict, and his new books to come. Find out more about Nickson on his website, Facebook page, and Instagram, and buy the book on Bookshop.org, Amazon.com, and Amazon.co.uk.

Q. With this eighth Simon Westow novel, you’re ending this series. How did you choose the mystery after which he departs—what about this particular plot felt like it would offer Simon, readers and you yourself a fitting close?

A. It wasn't my intention to make this the final book in the series. I had another in mind as a finale. But when I tried to write it, I couldn't make it work. It didn't come alive. Plenty of attempts later, I decided the universe was trying to tell me something. This might not have the epic conclusion, but it does round things out quite satisfactorily, I feel. 

Re-Reading: MAUD CASEY'S CITY OF INCURABLE WOMEN

Interweaving material from hospital case notes with fictional invention, Casey illuminates the mistreated “madwomen” of late 19th century Paris’s Salpêtrière asylum. Casey’s precise, luminous prose is supplemented by telling period documents and images. Every novel from Casey is a haunting, immersive treat. You can read our interview with the author on her previous book, The Man Who Walked Away, here. Buy this one on Amazon and Bookshop and visit the author's website for more.

Favorite Films: ITV's EMMA, 1996

Though without the spectacular and showy visuals of Autumn De Wilde’s 2020 adaptation of the novel, to my mind this 1996 adaptation from Britain’s ITV better captures the warmth of heart behind the story’s intricate ironies. Andrew Davies adapts the text with his usual skill, brilliant British actors give stellar performances throughout (I’m forgiving Prunella Scales for making the already over-the-top character of Miss Bates even a little more extra), Jenny Beavan’s costumes are lovely, and the story’s themes of growth and community—as well as its comedy—resonate throughout. Ignore the over-feminine pink of the poster and the fact that Kate Beckinsale isn't blond; this is a strong adaptation of Austen's classic.

Just Out: ROSEMARY SIMPSON'S DEATH TAKES THE LEAD

 

As a former NYC resident, I always enjoy the Manhattan-related elements of Simpson’s Gilded Age mysteries (I especially appreciated the appearance of the Metropolitan Museum in Murder Wears a Hidden Face). In the lively ninth installment, Prudence MacKenzie’s strength and smarts are tested by a murder in the city’s theatrical circles—a world that’s even more dramatic offstage than on. As always with this series, the plotting is well-crafted and the glimpse of Gilded Age America rich. You can buy the book on Bookstore.org and Amazon.com  and keep up with the author on her Facebook page.

Just Out: CLARA McKENNA'S MURDER AT GLENLOCH HILL

In Clara McKenna's charming sixth Stella and Lyndy mystery,  the couple visits Scotland, golf’s home nation, during the celebrated Open Championship. Needless to say, the vagaries of links golf are not the only challenge Stella and Lyndy face. The couple’s strong personalities and colorful family connections make for a fun, energetic tale, and a story thread relating to their attempts to get pregnant is a poignant touch. Order the book on Bookstore.org here and visit McKenna here.