Allegra Goodman Interview, plus links to author biography, book summaries, excerpts and reviews

An interview with Allegra Goodman

BookBrowsers ask Allegra Goodman

Please join me in welcoming Allegra Goodman to our BookBrowse Community Forum online discussion. Allegra is the author of several works of literary fiction, and, most recently, the outstanding historical fiction novel, Isola. Allegra, thanks for being here! Please tell our group a little about yourself.

Allegra Goodman: Hi everybody! I am so happy to be here! I am a novelist and I live in Cambridge, MA. Fun fact–I grew up in Honolulu and I've always been obsessed with islands.

My most recent novel is Isola which came out in February. This novel is based on the true story of Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval who sailed to the New World in 1542 and was marooned on an island in the Gulf of St Lawrence.

BB: Hi Allegra! Thanks for being here. I'd like to start by talking about Isola. In looking at your novels it seems that this one is your first foray into historical fiction, is that correct? If so, what led you in that direction? How did you first learn about Marguerite, and what encouraged you to make her the subject of one of your novels?

AG: Yes, this is my first historical novel. I first learned about Marguerite while traveling with my family to Canada over twenty years ago. I'd brought along some children's books on Canadian history. In a book about the explorer Jacques Cartier, the author mentioned Marguerite as a young kinswoman of the voyage commander Roberval. The author said something like–this young woman annoyed the commander so he marooned her on an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Immediately, I wanted to learn more about her–and I wanted to write about her. I never forgot Marguerite and after many years and a lot of research, I finally began writing my version of her story.

BB: Wow, it's amazing that she stuck with you all that time! How did you go about researching her and the time period in which she lived? Given how long ago it was, you must have really had to do some digging. Also, the real-life accounts of Marguerite's ordeal differ. At what point did you decide to include both versions?

AG: I did a lot of reading about Marguerite and her world. I also did a lot of looking at paintings of women from the period, musical instruments, maps, and objects from her time. I listened to lute music. I researched the way polar bears hunt–and attack. I thought about books she might have read. I read a biography for the Queen of Navarre. Early on I studied the two contemporary accounts of Marguerite's ordeal. Because they conflict, I knew I had to choose which details to use. As a story teller I was particularly interested in the way that narratives serve their authors–not necessarily their subjects. I play with that in my book.

BB: I'm curious as to why it became the time for you to write a historical fiction novel. It sounds like Marguerite's story had been rolling around in your head for a while - what brought it to the fore? It's so different from your other books - did you just decide it was time to mix is up?

AG: I think that writing Sam gave me that final push I needed to write Marguerite's story. Sam is a climber, a striver, and a survivor. She is also a young woman coming of age. While writing about Sam the 21st century girl, I began to think about the challenges of coming of age in the 16th century. In some ways it's harder for Marguerite. She has no meaningful legal protection. In other ways, it's easier because she is an aristocrat.

Luisa_H: Isola is definitely a 5 star novel of historical fiction! I've recommended it to many friends. I was wondering how you decided on the title. Isn't Isola Italian? Why not L'île isolée or maybe Isolée, since the main characters speak French?

AG: Thank you so much for reading and recommending "Isola!" Great question about the title. I used the Italian word for Island because the map Cartier is using is Italian. It's the map reproduced in the first pages of the book. On that map all the islands are labeled Isola. I was drawn to the word because it looked to me like I-Sola, I alone and Marguerite's isolation lies at the heart of the book. At one point she says that she herself became an island, living as she did alone. Her solitude breaks her and also is the making of her. When she returns to France she is quite a different person. I really wanted to write about isolation is like for a young person who has been privileged and surrounded by servants. What might you discover? What might you say to yourself? What might you come to believe?

NanK: Your writing created intense moods not only in the character descriptions and actions but also in the settings. Goodness, I felt lonely, miserable and cold many times while reading Isola. How did you craft "mood"?

AG: Ha, great question! I think mood comes from voice and character. This book is Marguerite's account and so the moods are hers. As she tells the story, the reader is right there with her, feeling what she feels–loneliness, cold, misery, grief–and also discovery, mastery, and hard-won triumph.

Luisa_H: In Isola, you were willing to address the characters' faith. In the 1530s - 1540s religion was important. Do you have any comments? Could you recommend any non-fiction about Marguerite?

AG: Thanks for your question, Luisa! I do think religion was important in the 1540s. Marguerite's education was religious and her Catholic faith provides her with the perspective and vocabulary for her experience–even when she doubts. In my opinion historical novels need to be accurate not only in descriptions of clothes and food and ships but psychologically and religiously. We live in a pretty secular world. Marguerite did not. I honored that. There are no biographies of Marguerite because so little is known about her. You might be interested in the queen's version of her life which you can find in "The Heptameron" a collection of stories published after the queen died. This book has been translated into English. I believe the Queen of Navarre's version of Marguerite's ordeal is story number 69.

Micheline_H: At the end of the novel Marguerite leaves with Claire and her mother Jacqueline accompanied by two Royal guards and a purse of gold. They are moving to Nontron to start a school for women. I did care for their safety knowing that Roberval wanted some of her money, again. How safe was the travelling in the mid-1500 in France?

AG: My sense is that traveling was pretty iffy, especially if the weather was bad. The roads were poor, and I think women in particular would have been targets for robbers. That said, when the three leave at the end of the book, they travel with guards. They are carrying money with them, and so they take precautions. Thanks for your question!

BB: What was your biggest challenge when writing Isola? Did you run into any roadblocks, or did you have to make drastic changes to your initial outline as you were writing?

AG: Probably my biggest challenge was to stay patient and work slowly. I had a good idea of how I wanted to structure the book and once I got started I had a strong sense of Marguerite's voice as she told her story. My biggest challenge was to work steadily and allow the book to unfold.

BB: I know you started writing at an early age, and your first collection of short stories was published on the day you graduated from Harvard. At what point did you decide you were able to devote yourself full-time to writing? Did you feel you were taking a leap of faith at that point, or were you pretty confident in your ability to succeed?

AG: I had always believed I would need a day job if I were to become a writer and for a long time I thought that job would involve scholarship. I earned a PhD in English literature at Stanford and while I was there I hoped to train to become a professor. By the time I finished my doctorate I was publishing stories in The New Yorker and had published The Family Markowitz. I had also published my first novel Kaaterskill Falls. It was clear to me that I could pursue a career as a full time writer. That said, I have continued to teach on occasion–and I love my time in the classroom. For the most part I teach creative writing, but I have also taught literature classes.

BB: How did having children impact your writing career? Do any of them appear in your works? Wondering in particular what Sam might share with your daughter, or if Diana and Aidan from The Chalk Artist are based in any way on your children's lives and interests. (And I still can't believe you were able to write while being mom to four little ones. Although I suppose they're not so little anymore!)

AG: My daughter Miranda says, "I take credit for all of Sam's good qualities." I think on occasion tiny bits of my children show up in my books. I worked steadily while raising my four, but I am writing a lot more now. My children are now 32, 29, 26 and 23. The oldest, a labor economist told me, "Your productivity has gone way up since we left home." This is absolutely true.

BB: Because Isola is based on historical fact, it seems like you were locked into a general outline of how the story would need to progress. Did you find that you had more flexibility in writing your other novels, and if so, which way of plotting out your story was more frustrating?

AG: As poets sometimes say, it's liberating to write with some constraints. I liked working with a few known facts because they provided me with structure. More flexibility can be a challenge! Or I should say, a different kind of challenge.

BB: Which of your books was your favorite to write? Which one are you most proud of? Which was the most challenging?

AG: I don't have a favorite book, but I have favorite scenes and chapters within my books. In Isola my favorite part to write was the last third when Marguerite returns home. I realize, however, that it was satisfying to write because of the work I'd done earlier to set up that return. Each writing project is challenging in its own way. It can be challenging to work with multiple points of view, as I do in Intuition and Kaaterskill Falls but it is also challenging to choose one point of view as I do in Sam and Isola. It can be challenging to write about people living long ago, as I do in Isola but it's also challenging to write about people living now–because everyone has an opinion on these times. In Isola I wrote about a woman about whom little is known and this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Marguerite left no diaries or letters. The two accounts of her ordeal conflict with each other and they are also brief. This meant I had scant source material–but a lot of space for my imagination.

Kathleen_K: Hi! I have read and enjoyed several of your novels. In a book like Intuition that hinges so much on big topics like science and ethics, how do you "find your way in" to the novel? Did the characters come to you first, or were you drawn to themes first? I loved this book, and as someone who grew up in Mass, I thought you captured Cambridge really well!

AG: Hooray! I am so glad you enjoyed Intuition! I find my way into a novel in a few ways. First, I do some research. In the case of Intuition I found some post docs willing to let me follow them around so that I could get a sense of the look and feel of their labs and the nature of their work, particularly with mice. While doing this research, I think about characters. With Intuition I wrote a little biography of each character just so I'd think about backstory. And while doing that I work on the voice of the book. How do I want the narrator to sound? How will I convey information? How will I play with point of view? And to add yet another layer I think about what might happen in a lab with the characters I'm developing. Where might they find joy in discovery? How might they compete? What are the sources of tension? Answering these questions leads me to topics of scientific method and ethics. So I'd say I work on character, setting, and voice first rather than starting with a big theme like scientific fraud.

BB: How involved do you get in the creation of the audio versions of your novels? Are there any screenplays in the works?

AG: I was sent a few clips of readers and I suggested the voice I thought was the best fit for Marguerite. I think she did a great job! In addition, I recorded the Author's Note. No screenplays in the works–at least not yet!

BB: I read in another interview that you were working on a different book at the same time you were writing Isola. How were you able to switch gears? I find I can't even read two books at once. And along those same lines, I know you write short stories and poetry as well. Do you continue writing in those genres while you write your novels?

AG: Ha! When my kids were younger I had barely enough time to work on one project. Now that they are grown up, I have a lot more time to work. I think it would be hard for me to start two projects at the same time, but I've found that if the books are at different stages, I can work on two. I started Isola when I already had a draft of Sam. So I was rewriting Sam in the mornings and drafting Isola in the afternoons. I did this five days a week. I don't work on Saturdays and on Sundays I generally work on shorter projects like essays or short stories. When I was a child I wrote poetry, but I don't attempt it now. Pretty early on, I discovered that I am a story teller rather than a poet. I do love to read poetry, however, and I try to read some every day. Recently I reread The Iliad and The Odyssey in the Lattimore translation. Currently I am reading The Canterbury Tales.

BB: Can you share with us what you're working on now? And do you think you'll tackle more historical fiction in the future?

AG: I have a new book coming out in April, 2026! It is called This Is Not About Us and it's the story of three generations of a 21st century family. Pieces of this book have appeared in The New Yorker over the last several years. I do see myself writing another historical novel. Stay tuned for that!



(Note: This Q&A first appeared 6/23-6/25 on the BookBrowse Community Forum as part of our Ask the Author series. It has been edited for clarity.)

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Allegra Goodman explains her motivation for writing Kaaterskill Falls.

I was born in Brooklyn New York, but only lived there two weeks. I spent my childhood in Hawaii, from the time I was two until I went away to college. At Harvard where I was in the class of '89, I majored in English and philosophy, and wrote and saw the publication of the stories that comprise my first book, Total Immersion. After graduation, I got married and spent a year in England writing fiction while my husband David studied "maths" at Cambridge University. Then we went to Stanford, where he got a Ph.D. in Computer Science, and I got a Ph.D. in English. While at Stanford I wrote most of the stories that make up my second book, The Family Markowitz. Many were published in The New Yorker. But throughout this time I was working on one long term project, a novel: Kaaterskill Falls.

I wrote Kaaterskill Falls for three reasons: The first was that I wanted to capture a particular time and place that had made an indelible impression on me and my family. My mother's family had a house in a small town in upstate New York, and every summer they would leave Brooklyn to enjoy the mountains, the lakes, the trees, the shade, and their dear friends and neighbors, who also came up every year and formed a small tightly knit yet also diverse Jewish community. As a child I used to go with my parents and sister to that house with its beautiful garden. The neighborhood, and the whole landscape were exotic to me--the cool mornings and the deciduous trees, the mountains, waterfalls and clear lakes, the Yankee houses with their porches and steep slate roofs, even the petunias and snap dragons in the flower beds were all so different from the tropical island I knew. Long after our family stopped going to the mountains in the summers, my mother would dream about the town and her house. She missed that place, and I got the idea that I would write a book that would somehow capture and recreate that place of her childhood for her. I was twenty-one.

The second motivation for writing this novel was that I was interested in delving into a rich, and for many, foreign strand of American Jewish life. I wanted to write about an Orthodox community grounded in tradition, but to do so in a way that was neither anthropological, nor sentimental. I wanted to write about men and women who were believers and traditionalists and even separatists in America, but to write about them as individuals, and as human, with all their idiosyncrasies, their ambitions, their fears, their flaws and their hopes. I loved that challenge.

Finally, my third reason for writing this novel was artistic. I wanted to write a novel about how individuals define themselves within the confines of family and community; about what they might choose to leave behind them, and why they might choose to stay. I wanted to write a novel about difficult moral choices and their consequences as people shape themselves and their worlds. The structured separatist community I invented, the Kirshners, and the traditional neighbors in Kaaterskill provided a stage with which to play out my drama. I was interested in writing about principle, and belief, the hold of religion and history, and so I wrote about people who were principled and were believers, and were held by religion, and--some of them--drawn to art. I wanted to create a rich detailed canvas that would draw the reader in, taking the reader to a new place, allowing the reader to see the world through my characters' eyes. I was inspired by the great novels of the nineteenth century, in which a whole world comes to life as we read. The novels of Jane Austen, George Eliot, Anthony Trollope. And yet my novel is an unmistakably twentieth-century book. My narrator is unobtrusive, my narrative is written in the present tense, and most of all, my characters, are very much men and women of their time, grappling with holding onto tradition in a modern world, struggling, even in their orthodoxy to maintain their religious lives in the aftermath of the Holocaust. My characters' summers in the Catskills are both serene and poignant.

The selection I have chosen for you focuses on Elizabeth, the character who is perhaps the heart of this book. She is a devout mother of five daughters who goes about both chores and prayers with a calm grace envied by her neighbor Nina Melish. Only under the surface is Elizabeth restless. She is mature in her role as mother and wife, but she is also young, and her imagination pulls at her constantly wishing for a project of her own, a means of self expression. When she visits Olana with Nina and for the first time sees Thomas Cole's painting of Kaaterskill Falls, Elizabeth has a vision that changes her life...

Copyright © 1998 Allegra Goodman.First published in Bold Type 1998. Reproduced by permission of Random House publishing.

Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.