![]() I might be over-analyzing, but there seems to be a lot about traditional gender roles and the ways men and women approach art and work and grief. The people Isadora kept around her are fascinating in real life, and it was fun to write, but the emotional breadth of the story is what got me to stay with it for so long.Īram Mrjoian: As you mentioned, grief is certainly a central theme in this book. So thinking about that construction from various angles became the most interesting thing. I found myself thinking more and more about how people would perceive tragedy, since the central form of the book is about grief and tragedy. That led me down an interesting character wormhole. When I was writing Isadora, I wanted to learn more about pre-World War I and how people thought before Freudian logic was popular. Even in great historical fiction, I find myself getting lost in the intrigue of the era or the particular energy of the place. When I read historical fiction, I’ve often felt in the writer an overwhelming interest in place and time, sometimes at the expense of an interest in character or emotional guideposts of the time. ![]() ![]() How did you get a handle on these historical characters and make them your own?Īmelia Gray: I think you’re exactly right. What makes this book really unique, for me anyway, as opposed to other historical fiction, is that instead of using a specific space and time to construct plot, you’ve put a lot of emotional truth into these characters that supersedes those aspects. I’m new to historical fiction, but I came to it with interest in her particular, astounding life and then imbued my own life into it.Īram Mrjoian: One thing that interests me about that idea is how we classify things by genre. For the first time it was a character that actually existed. She swiftly became the container for my own thoughts and feelings, which is kind of what happens to me with any character. novels.Īram Mrjoian: So what drew you to Isadora Duncan as a character? How did you decide to construct this historical fiction behind her?Īmelia Gray: I was on a magazine assignment about “it girls.” I didn’t know much about Isadora, but the more I learned the more I was fascinated by this creative, one-of-a-kind person from the near past who I knew nothing about. I was lucky enough to chat with Amelia on the phone about tackling the genre of historical fiction, the complexities of grief, and writing processes for short stories vs. With each movement, Gray gradually reveals the ambitions and losses of her characters. Indeed, Gray’s sentences move with a natural cadence that mirrors Isadora’s philosophy as a dancer. The result is a stunning work filled with profound emotional insights and downright splendid prose. Rather than recount the dozens of notorious tabloid stories that built Isadora’s legend (including the scarf that killed her), Gray hones in on the artist herself, delving into a period of tremendous loss after Duncan’s two children drown in a horrible automobile accident. She is the title figure of Amelia Gray‘s new novel, Isadora, which is-to say the least-not your run-of-the-mill historical fiction. A dancer of international acclaim, Isadora’s distinct artistic philosophy, tumultuous romantic relationships, and peculiar death make her an interesting, though little remembered, 20th century icon. Isadora Duncan lived an extraordinary life.
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