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L. Jagi Lamplighter Interview, plus links to author biography, book summaries, excerpts and reviews

L. Jagi Lamplighter

L. Jagi Lamplighter

An interview with L. Jagi Lamplighter

L. Jagi Lamplighter has always been intrigued by mythological creatures, and in a brief BookBrowse interview, she tells readers how she came to learn so much about them and incorporate them into her novels.

[Judy Krueger]:
The Prospero's Daughter trilogy is full of a staggering wealth of historical, mythical, and supernatural creatures, and religious lore from many centuries ago. Guessing that she did not just look this stuff up on the internet, I sent Ms. Lamplighter an email asking: "How did you learn so much about all those gods, goddesses, mythical creatures, etc?" Her answer:

[L. Jagi Lamplighter]:
I love both fairy tales and myths. I have been reading them since I was a child. So I've kind of steeped in them, like well-brewed tea.

I've read semi-anthropological sources as well, like The Golden Bough and The White Goddess and Bullfinch's Mythology. I also went through a period when I spent a year studying, on my own, mythologies from all over the world - which is one reason that, in the Prospero background, each section of the world has mythological creatures appropriate to that culture.

In addition, the Prospero books are based in part on a roleplaying game run by my husband, sci-fi/fantasy author John C. Wright. He, too, is a fan of myths. So he and I have learned a great deal from each other...

My idea for the Prospero books was that the story took place "in the real world". What I mean by that is this: Many stories pick a particular mythology - Norse mythology, Greek mythology, American Indian, etc. - then they say 'this mythos is real in my fantasy world, and the rest of them don't exist.'

But, in our real world, they are all there: Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, American Indian, Polynesian, Christian, Jewish, etc. My idea for Miranda's world was that all the things we know in our real world are there in her world as well, living among each other in an uneasy sort of alliance.

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.

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Books by this Author

Books by L. Jagi Lamplighter at BookBrowse
Prospero Regained jacket Prospero in Hell jacket Prospero Lost jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for L. Jagi Lamplighter but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose readalikes

  • Margaret Atwood

    Margaret Atwood

    is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. She has won the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Prospero Regained

    Try:
    Hag-Seed
    by Margaret Atwood

  • A.S. Byatt

    A.S. Byatt

    Dame Antonia Susan Byatt (b. 1936) was born and grew up in Yorkshire, England. She attended Newnham College, Cambridge; Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania; and Somerville College, Oxford, where she studied as a postgraduate.... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Prospero Regained

    Try:
    Ragnarok
    by A.S. Byatt

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