Christie
asked
Tracy Chevalier:
I have read all of your books but for some reason it is Falling Angels that I keep going back to over and over again. To me it is the most complex and also the best of your works. What I found especially interesting is its portrayal of the suffrage movement. Most authors hold up the suffragettes as heroic icons. What led you to write a more negative story about women's suffrage?
Tracy Chevalier
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Hi Christie--
Nice to hear you say that about Falling Angels. I tend to think of it as my ugly duckling novel - overshadowed by Pearl Earring and hence overlooked. (So many reviews said, "What, no Vermeer? No art? This is nothing like Pearl Earring!" But if I had written something similar, they would have said, "Look, Chevalier's going to churn out the same book over and over.")
I am fascinated by the suffragette movement. It has always been seen positively, but I started to get hints of it being something middle class women took up not because they really cared about getting the vote, but because they were bored and frustrated. I wanted to explore that side of it, and what the consequences would be to them and their families in taking such a radical step off of the life paths that were expected of them. It is not a judgement on my part, but I could see that what they were doing would affect their relationships with their families. Often for big change to happen, people have to make personal sacrifices. Kitty's sacrifice had to happen so that Maude could progress as a young woman.
By the way, some day I may write a sequel, as I know some of what happens to Maude, Lavinia, and Simon! (hide spoiler)]
Nice to hear you say that about Falling Angels. I tend to think of it as my ugly duckling novel - overshadowed by Pearl Earring and hence overlooked. (So many reviews said, "What, no Vermeer? No art? This is nothing like Pearl Earring!" But if I had written something similar, they would have said, "Look, Chevalier's going to churn out the same book over and over.")
I am fascinated by the suffragette movement. It has always been seen positively, but I started to get hints of it being something middle class women took up not because they really cared about getting the vote, but because they were bored and frustrated. I wanted to explore that side of it, and what the consequences would be to them and their families in taking such a radical step off of the life paths that were expected of them. It is not a judgement on my part, but I could see that what they were doing would affect their relationships with their families. Often for big change to happen, people have to make personal sacrifices. Kitty's sacrifice had to happen so that Maude could progress as a young woman.
By the way, some day I may write a sequel, as I know some of what happens to Maude, Lavinia, and Simon! (hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
Kaye Salter
asked
Tracy Chevalier:
What is you favorite book that you've written? I just love Remarkable Creatures!!
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