Ask the Author: David O. Stewart
Answered Questions (4)
David O. Stewart
You ask an excellent question! My editor asked it also. In fact, she put me in touch with Doris Kearns Goodwin to see if we could cook up a more satisfying explanation, and we agreed that it was tough to explain. This morning, prompted by your question, I looked at Walter Stahr's recent bio of Seward, which came out after IMPEACHED. He writes (p. 529): "Although Seward's relations with Johnson will always involve some mystery, the main reasons he supported the president are clear enough. . . . he agreed with Johnson that the southern states should be allowed to govern themselves, and to rejoin the union, without undue delay or onerous conditions. Seward was especially reluctant to desert a president under attack, and he saw impeachment as an improper and dangerous attack, . . . and be believed, perhaps immodestly, that he was the best secretary of state available to Johnson." Walter also notes that Seward lost his wife and daughter to illnesses during the Johnson administration -- truly, his sufferings were Job-like -- which made his official position that much more precious to him. And I think the terrible wounds Seward suffered in the assassination attempt (as you suggest) made him cling to work he found meaningful. By remaining in the Johnson administration, serving an unworthy president, Seward damaged his historical reputation. It's rather sad.
David O. Stewart
I need to know as much as possible about any true historical figures in the book -- such as Babe Ruth, or the gambling kingpin Arnold Rothstein who fixed the 1919 World Series -- so I read widely about those figures. And for any actual event that I will portray, I research deeply. For this book, that included the Babe's baseball games, the Black Sox scandal, the terrorist bombing of Wall Street. I also like to go to the places I'm writing about. Though the world has changed a lot in the 95 years since the events in the book, I still can get a feel for what the feel of the location is, which includes its slope, the views around it, and so on. I'll use Google images to find photos of what it looked like before.
But there's another layer of research, which involves getting a feel for the language of the times. I try to read some novels and newspaper stories from the era, or listen to recordings of people speaking if I can find them. I can pick up slang that was in use at the time and try to figure out how formally people spoke. For this book, there were a number of recordings of the Babe speaking, and I also found a movie that the Babe made in 1920, which allowed to me see what he looked like and how he moved as a young, world-champion athlete. The details can make all the difference in presenting a compelling portrait of a character.
But there's another layer of research, which involves getting a feel for the language of the times. I try to read some novels and newspaper stories from the era, or listen to recordings of people speaking if I can find them. I can pick up slang that was in use at the time and try to figure out how formally people spoke. For this book, there were a number of recordings of the Babe speaking, and I also found a movie that the Babe made in 1920, which allowed to me see what he looked like and how he moved as a young, world-champion athlete. The details can make all the difference in presenting a compelling portrait of a character.
David O. Stewart
THE BABE RUTH DECEPTION, a historical mystery, grew out of my wish to visit American in the early 1920s when women got the vote, shortened their skirts, cut their hair and kicked up their heels while everyone suddenly wanted to drink alcohol since Prohibition made it illegal and bootlegged stuff tasted better (as long as it didn't kill you). Looking for someone who embodied this time of exuberance and excess, Babe Ruth was the one. The story focuses on the Babe's first two years as a New York Yankee, 1920-21, when he reinvented baseball, smashing home runs at a rate that no one ever thought was possible. But the Babe also had a powerful taste for the night life, which can get a fellow in trouble, the kind that makes a great story. I discovered that the Babe made a feature-length movie during the 1920 season ("Headin' Home")that was bankrolled by a gangster who was the right hand man of Arnold Rothstein, who happened to be the racketeer and gambler who fixed the 1919 World Series by bribing the Chicago White Sox to throw the series. THAT gave me a great foundation for a story featuring my continuing heroes, the square Dr. Jamie Fraser and Speed Cook, an angry ex-ballplayer who was the last person of color to play professional baseball in the 1880s. It was a hoot to write, and readers have enjoyed it --
David O. Stewart
Inspiration comes in many forms. It all starts with the idea behind a book -- either for a novel or a historical book. There has to be a great story that I want to know more about. If I'm not fascinated by the story, there's no way I can work on it for months and years. Then there's the inspiration that comes from reading a great book -- recently I was knocked out by Joseph Kanon's novel LEAVING BERLIN -- and wanting to give that kind of pleasure to other readers by writing something just as good. And finally there's the inspiration of the day, which usually involves solving a problem.
For my histories, I may need to figure out why James Madison had such low expectations for the Bill of Rights he wrote for America, or how George Washington learned such mad political skills that he won every key election in his life UNANIMOUSLY. For novels, it may be understanding why a character would want to do something or how to extricate that character from a thorny problem. The whole writing enterprise is an endless challenge, which is the best part about it!
For my histories, I may need to figure out why James Madison had such low expectations for the Bill of Rights he wrote for America, or how George Washington learned such mad political skills that he won every key election in his life UNANIMOUSLY. For novels, it may be understanding why a character would want to do something or how to extricate that character from a thorny problem. The whole writing enterprise is an endless challenge, which is the best part about it!
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