The Dollhouse
Fiona Davis, 2016
Penguin Publishing
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781101984994
Summary
The Dollhouse.... That's what we boys like to call it.... The Barbizon Hotel for Women, packed to the rafters with pretty little dolls. Just like you."
Fiona Davis's stunning debut novel pulls readers into the lush world of New York City's glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women, where in the 1950's a generation of aspiring models, secretaries, and editors lived side-by-side while attempting to claw their way to fairy-tale success, and where a present-day journalist becomes consumed with uncovering a dark secret buried deep within the Barbizon's glitzy past.
When she arrives at the famed Barbizon Hotel in 1952, secretarial school enrollment in hand, Darby McLaughlin is everything her modeling agency hall mates aren't: plain, self-conscious, homesick, and utterly convinced she doesn't belong—a notion the models do nothing to disabuse.
Yet when Darby befriends Esme, a Barbizon maid, she's introduced to an entirely new side of New York City: seedy downtown jazz clubs where the music is as addictive as the heroin that's used there, the startling sounds of bebop, and even the possibility of romance.
Over half a century later, the Barbizon's gone condo and most of its long-ago guests are forgotten. But rumors of Darby's involvement in a deadly skirmish with a hotel maid back in 1952 haunt the halls of the building as surely as the melancholy music that floats from the elderly woman's rent-controlled apartment.
It's a combination too intoxicating for journalist Rose Lewin, Darby's upstairs neighbor, to resist—not to mention the perfect distraction from her own imploding personal life. Yet as Rose's obsession deepens, the ethics of her investigation become increasingly murky, and neither woman will remain unchanged when the shocking truth is finally revealed. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1966-67
• Where—Canada
• Raised—New Jersey, Utah, and Texas, USA
• Education—B.A., College of William and Mary; M.A., Columbia University
• Currently—lives in New York, New York
Fiona Davis was born in Canada and raised in New Jersey, Utah, and Texas. She began her career in New York City as an actress, where she worked on Broadway, off-Broadway and in regional theater. After 10 years, she changed careers, working as an editor and writer and specializing in health, fitness, nutrition, dance and theater.
She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and is based in in New York City. She loves nothing better than hitting farmer’s markets on weekends in search of the perfect tomato, and traveling to foreign cities steeped in history, like London and Cartagena. The Dollhouse (2016) is her first novel. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
In her page-turning debut, Fiona Davis deftly weaves the storylines of two women living at the famed Barbizon hotel for women…Davis alternates the chapters between each woman until the twists and turns of their respective storylines ultimately weave together, upping the anticipation along the way.
RealSimple.com
This suspenseful novel about a woman who took a decidedly different path—and the journalist who wants to uncover her secrets—will quicken your pulse.
InStyle.com
“Highly readable, The Dollhouse conjures up 1950s New York convincingly. In particular the now-vanished world of the Barbizon Hotel for Women, with its antiquated rules and intriguing array of female personalities and tragic fates, lives on in the pages of the novel in delectable detail… this is no mere ‘chick-lit,’ but feminist-inspired entertainment.
Historical Novel Society
(Starred review) Davis’s impeccably structured debut is equal parts mystery...and classic love story.... Davis juxtaposes the elegance and dark side of a bygone era—its jazz, glamorous models, career-minded women, and nascent heroin market—with the crass, digitally obsessed, and cutthroat media world of today.
Publishers Weekly
Fans of Suzanne Rindell’s Three-Martini Lunch will enjoy this debut’s strong sense of time and place as the author brings a legendary New York building to life and populates it with realistic characters who find themselves in unusual situations.
Library Journal
[Davis's] novel....isn't convincing.... Neither the Barbizon nor the spicy, mysterious nightlife outside it ever quite evoke the vivid portrait that Davis seems to have sought.... Despite moments of liveliness, this period piece fails to ignite much warmth, let alone a spark.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. When Griff returns home from work, Rose ponders if, as a man, he ever wondered “whether his face was too shiny, his hair curling unreasonably, or if his crow’s feet had possibly deepened overnight? He entered the room as an agent of change, a man who made the news. Not as the pleasant-featured girl who simply reported it.” Do you think her comments reflect the current climate women in the work place experience? Why or why not? How is this different from or similar to Darby’s time?
2. Why was Darby attracted to Esme as a friend? What characteristics did Esme espouse that Darby desired? Is Esme a foil for Darby? If so, then what does Stella represent? Which one of these three characters would you rather be in the story and why?
3. What did you think of young Stella’s plan to find the wealthiest, handsomest man she could? Do you think it was a mark of codependence or independence? Why or why not? Did your impression of Stella change from the 1950s to 2016? If so, how and why?
4. What did you think about how The Dollhouse portrays the darker, seedy underbelly of the New York City jazz scene in the 1950s? Does it still retain its glamour? Why or why not?
5. Why do you think Esme kissed Darby? Was it a sexual kiss? What did it mean to each woman?
6. Do you think Rose is justified in her skewering description of the modern startup workplace and startup CEO? Do you think it accurately reflects the modern culture of these workplaces?
7. Put yourself in Darby’s shoes. Would you have gone back home after being expelled from Gibbs? Why or why not? What did you think of Darby’s plan? How did it differ from Esme’s? What do these differences reveal about their friendship?
8. What did you think of Esme in the end? What different factors of her life played in to her desperate final actions? Is she a character to be pitied, vilified, or something much more complex? How did she change Darby, for better or for worse?
9. What did you think of Rose’s concerns about her future after her breakup with Griff? Were they justified? Was Rose fair in how she viewed the lives of the elderly Barbizon women?
10. What do you think of the older women’s lives now? Are they a symbol of feminism or a dying breed? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being one of the original Barbizon inhabitants?
11. Is Rose an accurate portrayal of the modern-day woman? Do you think Rose was too opportunistic in her desire to become a news-breaking journalist? Was she too desperate for Griff’s attention? What choices would you have made in her place and would those choices have been difficult? Why?
12. Did Rose’s story mirror Darby’s story? Why or why not? What are the differences and similarities? How do you think each woman changed and grew over the course of the novel?
13. Several people take on different identities, or present themselves to the world in a not-entirely-truthful way, in The Dollhouse. What purpose did these identities serve and how do you think they helped or hurt the various characters in the end?
14. How do you think the presence of food and delicacies, the different textures, spices, and smells, plays into the plot and texture of the book? How does it illuminate or obscure aspects of the two time periods? Did you have a favorite meal or ingredient? What was it and why?
15. What do you think about how Darby handled things with Sam after her skirmish with Esme? What would you have done in her situation? How do you think Darby’s life would have been different if she’d made a different choice? Ultimately, what did you think about what Darby made of her life?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The Nix
Nathan Hill, 2016
Publisher
640 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781101946619
Summary
A Nix can take many forms. In Norwegian folklore, it is a spirit who sometimes appears as a white horse that steals children away. In Nathan Hill’s remarkable first novel, a Nix is anything you love that one day disappears, taking with it a piece of your heart.
It’s 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson—college professor, stalled writer—has a Nix of his own: his mother, Faye. He hasn’t seen her in decades, not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she’s re-appeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the internet, and inflames a politically divided country.
The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high-school sweetheart. Which version of his mother is true? Two facts are certain: she’s facing some serious charges, and she needs Samuel’s help.
To save her, Samuel will have to embark on his own journey, uncovering long-buried secrets about the woman he thought he knew, secrets that stretch across generations and have their origin all the way back in Norway, home of the mysterious Nix. As he does so, Samuel will confront not only Faye’s losses but also his own lost love, and will relearn everything he thought he knew about his mother, and himself.
From the suburban Midwest to New York City to the 1968 riots that rocked Chicago and beyond, The Nix explores—with sharp humor and a fierce tenderness—the resilience of love and home, even in times of radical change. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1975-76
• Where—Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Iowa; M.A. University of Massachusetts
• Currently—lives in Naples, Florida
Nathan Hill is an American author, a native of Iowa who was raised in various states in the Midwest. He now makes his home in Naples, Florida, while on leave from his teaching position as an associate professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Writing
His debut novel, The Nix, was published in 2016 and received widespread acclaim, including starred reviews from all four publishing journals: Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly (no mean feat.)
His short stories have appeared in The Iowa Review, Gulf Coast, Denver Quarterly, Fugue, Gettysburg Review and other journals. The journal Fiction awarded him the Fiction Prize for his story "The Bottle."
Early career
Hill has worked as an editor and website designer for the Academy of American Poets and, prior to that, as a print journalist. (Adapted from the author's website.)
Book Reviews
There is an accidental topicality in Hill’s debut, about an estranged mother and son whose fates hinge on two mirror-image political events—the Democratic Convention of 1968 and the Republican Convention of 2004. But beyond that hook lies a high-risk, high-reward playfulness with structure and tone: comic set-pieces, digressions into myth, and formal larks that call to mind Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad.
New York Magazine
(Starred reivew.) [A]n ironic view of 21st-century elections, education, pop culture, and marketing, with flashbacks to 1988, 1968, and 1944..... Hill skillfully blends humor and darkness, imagery and observation. .... [in] this rich, lively take on American social conflict.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred reivew.) When Samuel Andreson-Anderson was growing up, his mother... [told] him "the things you love the most will one day hurt you the worst."... Offering engrossing prose, multiple interlocking stories, and deftly drawn characters, Hill shows us how the interlinked consequences of our actions can feel like fate. —Barbara Hoffert
Library Journal
(Starred reivew.) Place Nathan Hill’s engrossing, skewering, and preternaturally timely tale beside the novels of Tom Wolfe, John Irving, Donna Tartt, and Michael Chabon. . . . Cartwheeling among multiple narrators, The Nix spins the galvanizing stories of three generations derailed in unexpected ways. . . . Hill takes aim at hypocrisy, greed, misogyny, addiction, and vengeance with edgy humor and deep empathy in a whiplashing mix of literary artistry and compulsive readability.
Booklist
(Starred reivew.) Sparkling, sweeping debut novel that takes in a large swath of recent American history and pop culture and turns them on their sides.... Hill gently lampoons advertising culture, publishing, academia, politics, and everything in between. A grand entertainment, smart and well-paced, and a book that promises good work to come.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think that the author chose to call his novel The Nix? What is a Nix according to folklore? How does the Nix function symbolically within the novel and which major themes of the novel does it help to facilitate or uncover? Who in the story believes himself or herself to be a Nix and why? Do you agree with that person? Why or why not?
2. At the beginning of the story, Faye reveals that she believes the things a person loves the most will ultimately hurt them the worst. Which events in her life may have caused her to adopt this point of view? Does the rest of the book seem to support this view of love or overturn it? Does Faye ever change her mind about this? Does her son, Samuel, share her view of love? Discuss.
3. Why does Faye leave her son, Samuel, and her husband? How does Samuel react to her departure, and what impact does this abandonment have on his life and development? What is it like when the two reunite? How does their relationship change over the course of the book, and what causes these changes? Do either of the characters seem to achieve catharsis? If so, how?
4. How do Faye’s parents react when she is accepted at the University of Illinois’s new Chicago Circle campus and tells them that she wants to attend? Why do you think that they have this reaction? How does Faye herself seem to feel about the prospect of leaving home? What helps her to make the final decision to go to Chicago, and why does her father tell her to never come back? Why do you think Faye refrains from addressing the misunderstanding that has caused so much strife between her and her parents?
5. Evaluate the treatment of women in the book. What kinds of experiences do the female characters share? How are they treated by the male? What do the men in the book think women should be like? Do the women meet these expectations or defy them? Explain. In the sections set in the 1960s and ’70s, how does feminism seem to impact the way that the women are perceived by those around them? How do they respond to these expectations and stereotypes? Is Faye’s experience similar to the experiences of the other women or very different? Discuss.
6. Compare and contrast the parent-child relationships in the book. How does Samuel and Faye’s relationship compare to Faye’s own relationship with her father, Frank? How well does each child know his or her parent? What prevents them from knowing this parent better? How do the relationships change over time, and what causes these changes? When considered together, what do these relationships suggest about the nature of the parent-child relationship in generals? Explain.
7. Evaluate the treatment of technology in the book. Is technology portrayed as a positive invention or a negative one? How does the characters’ use of technology affect their communication, their daily lives, and their development as people? Why are Samuel and Pwange especially addicted to Elfscape, and why does Pwange believe that Elfscape is more meaningful than the real world? What function or purpose does the game serve in their lives? What might this relationship reveal about contemporary life?
8. Consider the theme of the relationship between storytelling and point of view. What does the treatment of Faye’s story in the press reveal about this topic? Does the press, as depicted in the novel, provide fair and unbiased accounts of the news they report? What does the book also suggest about the publishing industry? Are the stories that each of the characters tells truthful and reliable? What does this information reveal about how we should approach storytelling as both storytellers and readers/listeners? Does the book ultimately suggest how we can best determine whether or not a source is reliable and a story is true?
9. Explore the motif of secrets. What are some of the secrets that the characters keep? Why do they keep these things secret? Do any of the characters ever reveal their secrets? If so, what is the outcome, and how are these secrets received? What do the responses to these reveals suggest about our fears of being known completely?
10. In the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure portion of the book, what choice does Samuel make when Bethany asks him if he can help her avoid her upcoming nuptials and invites him into her bedroom? Why does he make this choice? Do you believe it was the right choice? Why or why not? After some time passes, how does Samuel come to view his decision in that moment?
11. Evaluate the theme of shame. What causes the various characters in the novel to feel shame? How does the prevalence of this feeling impact their lives, the people they become, and the life choices they make? Do any of the characters overcome their feelings of shame? If so, how do they accomplish this?
12. Consider the portrayal of suburban middle-class living in the novel. How did industry affect and shape American life? What clues can we find in descriptions of the landscape? Does the book suggest whether industry provided a happier or better existence for families? For instance, is Frank living a better life because of his willingness to leave his home in Norway? What would you say the novel ultimately suggests about progress and the American dream?
13. What kinds of stories does Frank share with his daughter, Faye, as she is growing up? What effect do these stories have on her? Why do you think that she chooses to share these tales with her own son? What seems to be the purpose of telling these stories? What lessons or messages do the stories contain?
14. When Faye reaches Norway, how does what she finds compare to what her father had shared with her about his home and his past? Who is Freya, and how does Faye’s knowledge of who Freya is affect the way that she relates to and understands her father? How does the trip to Norway ultimately affect Faye’s relationship with her father and with Samuel?
15. Many of the characters in the book engage in some type of art. What role or purpose does art seem to fulfill in their lives? Why does Samuel decide to become a novelist? What does he hope that his book The Nix will achieve?
16. Evaluate the theme and motif of protest. In addition to the protests that Faye takes part in as a young woman, Samuel attends a protest with Bethany and serves as a witness to other protests. What are some of the causes that the characters protest? What happens at the protests? Are they successful? What do you think Walter Cronkite meant when he observes that maybe the story isn’t the people protesting but the people who are not? Does the book ultimately portray protest as a valuable pursuit or a futile one? What seems to be the purpose of protest? Discuss.
17. Why does Judge Charlie Brown take on the case against Faye? How do the two know each other? Does Judge Brown get the outcome he desires? Why or why not? What does Brown’s character suggest about fairness and justice in the world?
18. Who is Sebastian? How does Faye meet Sebastian, and why is she initially drawn to him? What is her reaction to the revelation of his true identity? What does Faye recognize as their common bond?
19. Consider the collective view of America that the novel offers. What does this America look like? Would you say that is an accurate portrayal? Why or why not? How does the author use comedy and the absurd to pose truths about the cultural and political landscape? Alternatively, how does he employ elements of tragedy to accomplish this? Does one method seem to be more successful in accomplishing this than the other? Explain.
20. In addition to the story of the Nix, another recurring tale in the novel is the parable of the elephant. What is the lesson in this parable, and what does it reveal about the true self? How might this message or way of looking at things shape your own understanding of and response to the characters in the book?
21. At the end of the book, Faye thinks: “Something does not have to happen for it to feel real” (581). What do you think she means by this? What might her statement suggest about the past, memory, imagination, and regret?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The One Man
Andrew Gross, 2016
St. Martin's Press
432 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250079503
Summary
Poland. 1944.
Alfred Mendl and his family are brought on a crowded train to a Nazi concentration camp after being caught trying to flee Paris with forged papers. His family is torn away from him on arrival, his life’s work burned before his eyes.
To the guards, he is just another prisoner, but in fact Mendl—a renowned physicist—holds knowledge that only two people in the world possess. And the other is already at work for the Nazi war machine.
Four thousand miles away, in Washington, DC, Intelligence lieutenant Nathan Blum routinely decodes messages from occupied Poland. Having escaped the Krakow ghetto as a teenager after the Nazis executed his family, Nathan longs to do more for his new country in the war.
But never did he expect the proposal he receives from "Wild" Bill Donovan, head of the OSS: to sneak into the most guarded place on earth, a living hell, on a mission to find and escape with one man, the one man the Allies believe can ensure them victory in the war.
Bursting with compelling characters and tense story lines, this historical thriller from New York Times bestseller Andrew Gross is a deeply affecting, unputdownable series of twists and turns through a landscape at times horrifyingly familiar but still completely new and compelling. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1952
• Where—New York, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Middlebury College; M.B.A., Columbia University
• Currently—
Andrew Gross is an American author of thriller novels including four New York Times bestsellers. He is best known for his collaborations with suspense writer James Patterson. Gross’s books feature close family bonds, relationships characterized by loss or betrayal and large degree of emotional resonance which generally lead to wider crimes and cover-ups.
Early life and education
Andrew Gross was born in New York City in 1952. He grew up in Manhattan and attended the Barnard School for Boys. Both his father and his grandfather on his mother’s side were successful clothing manufacturers; they ran the Leslie Fay Companies, named after his mother.
Gross received a degree in English from Middlebury College in 1974. In 1979, he met his wife, Lynn, on a blind date in New York City, and they married three years later. In 1982, he received a Masters in Business Policy from Columbia University.
Business career
After a two-year stint in Denver, where he worked as a dress buyer, he opened a stew-and-soup fast food pilot named Ebeneezer's. He eventually went back to work for his family's publicly held apparel firm, the Leslie Fay Companies.
In 1984, Gross took over Head NV Sportswear, the struggling arm of the iconic ski and tennis brand, and by 1989, had repositioned it into the number one upscale producer of tennis and ski apparel in the U.S. and as a thriving brand in Europe as well. He left that endeavor for a larger role at Leslie Fay (which then had close to a billion dollars in annual sales and, by then, listed on the New York Stock Exchange).
As Gross describes it, "sometimes the toughest thing about being in a family company is that it's filled with your own family", so in 1991, he left to pursue his own opportunities at Le Coq Sportif, a boutique tennis/golf brand, and Sun Ice, Inc., a Canadian skiwear manufacturer. The Canadian firm, however, ended "poorly and abruptly", as Gross says, "hastening my writing career."
Writing
Gross attended the Writers Program at the University of Iowa. It took three years to finish a draft of his first book, Hydra (1998), a political thriller. He recalls that time:
After dozens of rejections from agents and ultimately publishers, not knowing what my next step in life was, and sitting around my study, wondering what cliff I was going to drive our SUV off of, I received a phone call from someone who asked, "Can you take a call from James Patterson?"
Gross met with Patterson and discussed the early concepts for what ultimately became the Women's Murder Club series. Patterson explained that the head of his publishing house had forwarded Gross's unpublished manuscript to him with the words scratched on the cover: "This guy does women well!" Patterson and Gross formed a partnership in less than a week.
Gross worked with Patterson on several books in this series, including Second Chance and Third Degree, both of which became best sellers. Then, they branched out on different themes together, co-authoring other bestsellers: The Jester, Lifeguard and Judge and Jury.
Solo career
In 2006, Gross left Patterson to pursue a solo writing career. In 2007, The Blue Zone debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list. A year later, Gross followed up with The Dark Tide (2007), which the International Thriller Writers Association nominated Thriller of the Year. That book's detective Ty Hauck of Greenwich, Connecticut, became the lead character in several other Gross's conspiracy-based bestsellers, Don't Look Twice (2009), Reckless (2010), and One Mile Under (2015). These collectively are referred to a the Ty Hauck series.
In all, Gross has written 10 books on his own, preceded by his five books with James Patterson.
His tenth book, The One Man departs from Gross's usual crime thrillers. Set in World War II, it concerns an attempted rescue of a (fictional) world-renowned physicist from Auschwitz. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 8/24/2016.)
Book Reviews
(Starred Review.) [A] harrowing, thematically rich thriller.... [This] deadly odyssey into and out of this 20th-century hell drives toward a compelling celebration of the human will to survive, remember, and overcome.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred Review.) As moving as it is gripping. A winner on all fronts.
Booklist
(Starred Review.) [A] heart-pounding thriller set in the bowels of Auschwitz.... [D]on't bet on the outcome of this one, and do keep your tissues handy. This is Gross' best work yet, with his heart and soul imprinted on every page.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.)
Three Sisters, Three Queens (Tudor Court, 2)
Philippa Gregory, 2016
Touchstone
576 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781476758572
Summary
There is only one bond that I trust: between a woman and her sisters. We never take our eyes off each other. In love and in rivalry, we always think of each other.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the upcoming Starz original series The White Princess, a gripping new Tudor story featuring King Henry VIII’s sisters Mary and Margaret, along with Katherine of Aragon, vividly revealing the pivotal roles the three queens played in Henry VIII’s kingdom.
When Katherine of Aragon is brought to the Tudor court as a young bride, the oldest princess, Margaret, takes her measure. With one look, each knows the other for a rival, an ally, a pawn, destined—with Margaret’s younger sister Mary—to a sisterhood unique in all the world.
The three sisters will become the queens of England, Scotland, and France. United by family loyalties and affections, the three queens find themselves set against each other.
Katherine commands an army against Margaret and kills her husband James IV of Scotland. But Margaret’s boy becomes heir to the Tudor throne when Katherine loses her son.
Mary steals the widowed Margaret’s proposed husband, but when Mary is widowed it is her secret marriage for love that is the envy of the others. As they experience betrayals, dangers, loss, and passion, the three sisters find that the only constant in their perilous lives is their special bond, more powerful than any man, even a king. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—January 9, 1954
• Where—Nairobi, Kenya
• Raised—Bristol, England, UK
• Education—B.A., Sussex University; Ph.D., Edinburgh University
• Currently—lives in the North York Moors, Yorkshire, England
Philippa Gregory is a British historical novelist, writing since 1987. The best known of her works is The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Early life and academic career
Philippa Gregory was in Nairobi, Kenya, the second daughter of Elaine (Wedd) and Arthur Percy Gregory, a radio operator and navigator for East African Airways. When she was two years old, her family moved to Bristol, England.
She was a "rebel" at Colston's Girls' School where she obtained a B grade in English and two E grades in History and Geography at A-level. She then went to journalism college in Cardiff and spent a year as an apprentice with the Portsmouth News before she managed to gain a place on an English literature degree course at the University of Sussex, where she switched to a history course.
She worked in BBC radio for two years before attending the University of Edinburgh, where she earned her doctorate in 18th-century literature. Gregory has taught at the University of Durham, University of Teesside, and the Open University, and was made a Fellow of Kingston University in 1994.
Private life
Gregory wrote her first novel Wideacre while completing a PhD in 18th-century literature and living in a cottage on the Pennine Way with first husband Peter Chislett, editor of the Hartlepool Mail, and their baby daughter, Victoria. They divorced before the book was published.
Following the success of Wideacre and the publication of The Favoured Child, she moved south to near Midhurst, West Sussex, where the Wideacre trilogy was set. Here she married her second husband Paul Carter, with whom she has a son. She divorced for a second time and married Anthony Mason, whom she had first met during her time in Hartlepool.
Gregory now lives on a 100-acre (0.40 km2) farm in the North York Moors national park, with her husband, children and stepchildren (six in all). Her interests include riding, walking, skiing, and gardening.
Writing
She has written novels set in several different historical periods, though primarily the Tudor period and the 16th century. Reading a number of novels set in the 17th century led her to write the bestselling Lacey trilogy — Wideacre, which is a story about the love of land and incest, The Favoured Child and Meridon. This was followed by The Wise Woman. A Respectable Trade, a novel of the slave trade in England, set in 18th-century Bristol, was adapted by Gregory for a four-part drama series for BBC television. Gregory's script was nominated for a BAFTA, won an award from the Committee for Racial Equality, and the film was shown worldwide.
Two novels about a gardening family are set during the English Civil War: Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth. She has also written contemporary fiction—Perfectly Correct; Mrs Hartley And The Growth Centre; The Little House; and Zelda's Cut. She has also written for children.
Some of her novels have won awards and have been adapted into television dramas. The most successful of her novels has been The Other Boleyn Girl, published in 2002 and adapted for BBC television in 2003 with Natascha McElhone, Jodhi May and Jared Harris. In the year of its publication, The Other Boleyn Girl also won the Romantic Novel of the Year and has subsequently spawned sequels—The Queen's Fool, The Virgin's Lover, The Constant Princess, The Boleyn Inheritance, and The Other Queen. Miramax bought the film rights to The Other Boleyn Girl and produced a film of the same name starring Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn and co-starring Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, Eric Bana as Henry Tudor, Juno Temple as Jane Parker, and Kristin Scott Thomas as Elizabeth Boleyn. It was filmed in England and generally released in 2008.
Gregory has also published a series of books about the Plantagenets, the ruling houses that preceded the Tudors, and the Wars of the Roses. Her first book The White Queen (2009), centres on the life of Elizabeth Woodville the wife of Edward IV. The Red Queen (2010) is about Margaret Beaufort the mother of Henry VII and grandmother to Henry VIII. The Lady of the Rivers (2011) is the life of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville, first married to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, younger brother of Henry the Fifth. The Kingmaker's Daughter (2012) is the story of Anne Neville, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, the wife of Richard III. The next book, The White Princess (2013), centres on the life of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII and the mother of Henry VIII.
Controversy
In her novel The Other Boleyn Girl, her portrayal of Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn drew criticism. The novel depicts Anne as cold and ruthless, as well as heavily implying that the accusations that she committed adultery and incest with her brother were true, despite it being widely accepted that she was innocent of the charges. Novelist Robin Maxwell refused on principle to write a blurb for this book, describing its characterisation of Anne as "vicious, unsupportable." Historian David Starkey, appearing alongside Gregory in a documentary about Anne Boleyn, described her work as "good Mills and Boon" (a publisher of romance novels), adding that: "We really should stop taking historical novelists seriously as historians. The idea that they have authority is ludicrous." Susan Bordo criticized Gregory's claims to historical accuracy as "self-deceptive and self-promoting chutzpah", and notes that it is not so much the many inaccuracies in her work as "Gregory’s insistence on her meticulous adherence to history that most aggravates the scholars."
Media
Gregory is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, with short stories, features and reviews. She is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4 and the Tudor expert for Channel 4's Time Team. She won the 29 December 2008 edition of Celebrity Mastermind on BBC1, taking Elizabeth Woodville as her specialist subject.
Charity work
Gregory also runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in The Gambia. Gardens for The Gambia was established in 1993 when Gregory was in The Gambia, researching for her book A Respectable Trade.
Since then the charity has dug almost 200 low technology, low budget and therefore easily maintained wells, which are on-stream and providing water to irrigate school and community gardens to provide meals for the poorest children and harvest a cash crop to buy school equipment, seeds and tools.
In addition to wells, the charity has piloted a successful bee-keeping scheme, funded feeding programmes and educational workshops in batik and pottery and is working with larger donors to install mechanical boreholes in some remote areas of the country where the water table is not accessible by digging alone. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/22/2013.)
Book Reviews
Philippa Gregory’s historical fiction about the Tudors, including the best-seller The Other Boleyn Girl, has earned her a devoted following, and Three Sisters, Three Queens is sure to bring her more.
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Mesmerizing, intimate...Gregory defines what it means to be a writer of historical fiction. She lures readers straight into the hearts and minds of her characters by masterful storytelling and brilliant reimagination blended with historical fact. She brings history to life.
Romance Times
The ultimate job in centuries past was ruling. Historical fiction maven Gregory takes on three women, all part of King Henry VIII’s world, who serve as queens of England, France, and Scotland.
Library Journal
A fictional tale as steeped in history as it is in intrigue and family dysfunction.... Gregory excels in plucking real-life women out of their secondary places in the historical chorus and placing them stage center in starring roles.
Booklist
This narrative of three queens is told strictly from the perspective, often acerbic, often envious, of only one: Margaret Tudor, who became Queen of Scots when she married, by long planned arrangement, King James of Scotland in 1502.... Never dull.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.)
Diary of an Oxygen Thief
Anonymous, 2006 (2015, U.S.)
Gallery Books
160 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781501157851
Summary
Hurt people hurt people.
Say there was a novel in which Holden Caulfield was an alcoholic and Lolita was a photographer’s assistant and, somehow, they met in Bright Lights, Big City
He’s blinded by love. She by ambition.
Diary of an Oxygen Thief is an honest, hilarious, and heartrending novel, but above all, a very realistic account of what we do to each other and what we allow to have done to us. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Ireland
• Education—N/A
• Currently—lives in New York, New York USA
In Anonymous's words
"Being anonymous is part of the story. I love that there’s no cheesy photo on the backcover and that we don’t have to hear about how the writer lives in Connecticut or San Francisco or Brooklyn or wherever with his two dogs and a cat. Fuck all that. In this case the story is the hero.
"Also writing anonymously allows me to inhabit the reader more effectively. Because we can’t Google anyone we’re forced to make up our own minds about what’s happening in the narrative. It actually makes for a more satisfying experience." (Excerpted from EV Grief.)
Book Reviews
Kinky, artsy, and swoon-worthy.
New York Magazine
First he steals the oxygen from you, then he spits it right back in your face. One of the most interesting and controversial encounters I’ve made through a book.
Lorenzo DeRita - COLORS magazine
Discussion Questions
These questions were developed by Jennifer Johnson, Reference Librarian for the Springdale (Arkansas) Public Library. Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing them with LitLovers!
1. Given his country of origin and the overall candidness of many British persons, do you think this contributes to his tendency to be more direct and vulgar in Chapter 1?
2. Despite current trends, many professions still have a designated stereotype attached to them. Do you think his language and writing style are typical of what society perceives as a male advertising executive?
3. Publisher’s Weekly recently published an article discussing how this book broke the standards of self-publishing works in terms of marketing and overall success. Do you think the author attempted to push all societal boundaries with this book such as in content, language, and marketing?
4. According to Anonymous, “The more they confided and invested in you, the deeper the shock and the more satisfying the moment at the end.” Given that he has a lot of experience in art, advertisement, and the business realm, can we see any similarities between the advertisement world and his personal life?
5. In reflecting on his relationship with Penny, Anonymous states, “But she’s the one I regret hurting the most. Why? Because she didn’t deserve it. Not that the others did, but she wouldn’t have left me if I hadn’t ripped her apart. And I needed her to leave me because she was getting in the way of my drinking.” What can we learn about Anonymous from this specific statement?
6. Anonymous’ logic consisted of “If someone hurts you, then you automatically want revenge. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, you want revenge. I thought if I hurt her enough, she would want revenge… And while I flattered myself that she’d seek revenge, I didn’t realize that leaving me to stew in my own paranoid juices was revenge enough.” Is his logic flawed? If so, how?
7. Anonymous “…invited Catherine and some of the others to my thirtieth birthday party, to be held in my back garden… all my ex-girlfriends were to gather in one location… these separate personalities, unified by the pain I had caused them, would at last understand the devilish mind that now controlled their futures.” On what level is Anonymous really inflicting the pain on himself with his girlfriends as collateral damage?
8. Given his brief discussion of childhood sexual abuse by a De La Salle Brother, lacking familial relationships with his parents and siblings, and discovering his only friend and father did not appear to care about him, what could Anonymous have done to prevent becoming a damaged, alcoholic abuser?
9. After becoming a recovering alcoholic, Anonymous stated that his “…parents were excited for me but sad for themselves. Since I’d stopped drinking, they really did like having me around.” Considering his lack of familial relationships, do you think alcohol was a primary factor in his abusive personality?
Anonymous, the author
1. The author was brutally honest and wrote in a manner that has been described by some as “beautifully horrid.” What are your thoughts on his style and presentation?
2. In some instances, the author uses blunt, embarrassing vulgarity to describe how badly he hurt women, which is visible present in the dialog sections. Do you think this was an exaggeration of his actions as a means to get extreme emotional response from the reader?
3. While the monograph was written in a “diary” style format, do you think the author takes advantage of self-reflection and critiques of his actions?
4. Compare chapters 1 and half of chapter 2 to the rest of the book? What differences and similarities can we identify?
5. Did anyone listen to the audiobook? How could we interpret this book differently if we listened to it instead of reading it?
Society & Culture
1. How does this book defy your societal standards and norms for relationships, romance, and abuse?
2. How has this book changed our view of abuse and the cycle of hurting people?
3. Does this book portray abusive relationships in an accurate manner? Are abusive relationships overly exaggerated?
4. What taboos does this book break and why?
5. Why are news sources and book stores labeling this book as a bestseller and excellent piece of literature?
6. According to Anonymous, “I started to realize something was wrong when I began to get beaten up. My mouth always got me into trouble, of course.” Based of your experience, do you think Anonymous would have realized the true extent of pain of his mental or emotional abuse without having gone through it himself? In terms of mental and physical pain, why is one socially acceptable while the other is not?
7. According to Anonymous, “…I felt better when I saw someone else in pain.” Is the author relatable in this statement?
The Oxygen Thief and his CO 2
1. What are the characteristics of an Oxygen Thief?
2. According to Anonymous, “Don’t worry, I got my comeuppance. That’s why I’m telling you this. Justice was done. Balance has been restored. The same thing happened to me, only worse. Worse because it happened to me.” Which Oxygen Thief is worse –Anonymous or Aisling?
3. Do you feel differently about Anonymous knowing that he switched from being the Oxygen Thief to being the recipient of mental abuse?
4. What are the characteristics of the CO 2 ?
5. Can a person solely be one or the other? Can they be both?
6. What creates an Oxygen Thief and why do they continue the cycle of hurting others?
7. Why is this book titled the Diary of an Oxygen Thief?
8. Do you agree with the author’s statement, “hurt people hurt people”?
9. Anonymous described needing to leave London as means to escape the creative partner he desperately hated. Do you think Anonymous was solely an Oxygen Thief in his romantic relationships?
10. According to Anonymous, reflecting on being rejected by Aisling, “I was in a lot of pain, you see. But it had been caused by an abstract blade. What I mean is, the pain was physical, the cause wasn’t. I suppose some people would say I was suffering from a broken heart.” Do you think, before his relationship with Aisling, he ever equated mental abuse as being physically painful?
Supplemental Articles
"Q-and-A with Anonymous, author of Diary of an Oxygen Thief—and East Village Resident." EV Grieve (blog), November 30, 2012.
“Unknown Oxygen Thief author becomes self-published success.” CBS News (online), May 24, 2016.
Deahl, Rachel. “How Diary of an Oxygen Thief went from self-published obscurity to bestsellerdom.” Publisher’s Weekly (online), July 8, 2016.
(Questions submitted by Jennifer Johnson. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution to Jennifer and LitLovers. Thanks.)