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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
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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)
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