Ask the Author: Brian J. Dolan
Answered Questions (3)
Brian J. Dolan
The mystery in my family that I’d love to write is about my great aunt Suzy, who turned out not to be my great aunt at all.
Suzy, born, Suzanne Elizabeth Gilgan, was born to immigrant parents on a farm in Woburn, Massachusetts, but became a successful milliner with fancy hat shops on Newbury Street and Boylston Street in Boston. She would travel to and from Europe yearly to bring back the latest fashions, and would always go with a married Jewish because it was unseemly for a woman to travel alone.
I was able to buy one of her hats on eBay in the early 2000s. It’s a small purple number designed to be worn forward on the head, with a long purple feather that rakes back and curves along the head. You can imagine an immaculately dressed woman waiting to board a steam train or an ocean liner wearing it, with gloves and a matching clutch.
Not long after I was born, my father learned that his aunt Suzy was really his maternal grandmother. She had given my grandmother to her brother raise, saving her the shame of being raised by a single mother, and confessed it only on her deathbed.
Who was my great grandfather? How did Suzy rise from poverty to being a successful female business owner during the depression? There’s a great story in there somewhere…
Suzy, born, Suzanne Elizabeth Gilgan, was born to immigrant parents on a farm in Woburn, Massachusetts, but became a successful milliner with fancy hat shops on Newbury Street and Boylston Street in Boston. She would travel to and from Europe yearly to bring back the latest fashions, and would always go with a married Jewish because it was unseemly for a woman to travel alone.
I was able to buy one of her hats on eBay in the early 2000s. It’s a small purple number designed to be worn forward on the head, with a long purple feather that rakes back and curves along the head. You can imagine an immaculately dressed woman waiting to board a steam train or an ocean liner wearing it, with gloves and a matching clutch.
Not long after I was born, my father learned that his aunt Suzy was really his maternal grandmother. She had given my grandmother to her brother raise, saving her the shame of being raised by a single mother, and confessed it only on her deathbed.
Who was my great grandfather? How did Suzy rise from poverty to being a successful female business owner during the depression? There’s a great story in there somewhere…
Brian J. Dolan
Probably the universe of Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect in Hitchhikers Guide, so I could explore the galaxy while avoiding a horrible death. So many of the other “universes” that captivate me are so dangerous or uncomfortable that it probably wouldn’t be much fun. Think of the Road for example. Even if you could hop into the world of The Count of Monte Cristo there’s a distinct lack of sanitary facilities.
Brian J. Dolan
I keep a pretty extensive list of books to read. It’s a mix of things I hear about, titles from the MLA top 100 novels, and a few from On Writing by Stephen King.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey on my list after hearing about its Booker Prize nomination and listening to the author on NPR.
From the MLA list I’m looking at Sons and Lovers because I’ve never read Lawrence and Tender is the Night because I love F. Scott Fitzgerald.
A few from On Writing include Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flanders O’Connor.
There are some authors I’d like to read more of: Jeanine Cummins (American Dirt), Patrick O’Brian (Master and Commander), William Faulkner (As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury) Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist), Ann Patchett (Commonwealth, The Magician’s Assistant), Philip Roth (The Plot Against America, Indignation).
Orbital by Samantha Harvey on my list after hearing about its Booker Prize nomination and listening to the author on NPR.
From the MLA list I’m looking at Sons and Lovers because I’ve never read Lawrence and Tender is the Night because I love F. Scott Fitzgerald.
A few from On Writing include Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flanders O’Connor.
There are some authors I’d like to read more of: Jeanine Cummins (American Dirt), Patrick O’Brian (Master and Commander), William Faulkner (As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury) Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist), Ann Patchett (Commonwealth, The Magician’s Assistant), Philip Roth (The Plot Against America, Indignation).
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