-
Access our Top 20
Books of 2024!
Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
Serena Burdick is the author of the novels Girl In The Afternoon and The Girls With No Names. She is the 2017 International Book Award Winner for Historical Fiction. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence, holds a Bachelors of Arts from Brooklyn College in English literature and an Associates of Arts from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in theater. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.
Serena Burdick's website
This bio was last updated on 01/08/2020. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
How did you first come up with the idea for The Girls with No Names?
I was listening to a BBC news report on the Irish Magdalene Laundries and became intrigued with the topic. Originally I planned to set the book in Ireland, but when I started my research I discovered similar laundries all over the world. It felt important to write about the House of Mercy as it was close to home and a place many people had no idea existed.
How did you go about your research?
I used annual reports from the House of Mercy that I found at the New York Public Library. These gave me the basics of how the house was run, but the real stories of what happened to these women inside the House of Mercy came from articles I found in the New York Times, New York Tribune and Brooklyn Daily Mail. They were accounts of women who had escaped as well as court records on convictions.
Was the story fully planned out, or did it come to you as you worked?
I only had a rough idea of Effie and Luella's story. Mable was never part of the original plan. Her story was one of those magical moments for a writer when a character appears out of nowhere and suddenly takes over. I'd never experienced it before, but her voice was so clear and strong, it was as if she was ...
Kathy Hepinstall was born in Odessa, Texas and was raised mostly in Spring, Texas, two hours from the Louisiana border, where most of her relatives still reside. She lives in Austin, Texas. Her first novel, The House of ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
The Girls with No Names
Try:
Blue Asylum
by Kathy Hepinstall
Anna Hope is an English writer and actress from Manchester. She is perhaps best known for her role as a humanoid cat in the popular BBC series "Doctor Who".
Hope studied English at Oxford, attended the Royal Academy of ...
(more)
If you enjoyed:
The Girls with No Names
Try:
The Ballroom
by Anna Hope
We recommend 5 similar authors
.png)
Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
