Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins

What inspired you to portray William Lane as you did? As a historical novelist, I took it upon myself to read between the lines.Ĥ. I did have those wonderful diaries, but a lot was left out. You take what is known, and then let your imagination go from there. Writing historical fiction is somewhat like the play-acting of children. I felt, before knowing many facts, how hard that must have been. I did feel haunted by the hot attic with slanting ceilings where the girls slept. Orchard House was a thrill of recognition for a girl who’d play-acted that book before I read it. I grew up in Massachusetts, where I still live, and as a child visited Orchard House with dear cousins (including one named Meg, who is worthy of that name) and Fruitlands. How does an author become comfortable enough with the history to write a fiction novel based on that history? I read, while doing other things, for about a year, then wrote and revised for two, maybe three, more years.ģ. Not only all the Alcotts, but it seemed like half the population of Concord, kept journals! I was able to read some from the family (holding original documents at Harvard’s Houghton Library was a highlight of my life) as well as accounts by people such as Ralph Waldo Emerson who visited the farm. Writing about the Alcotts was the opposite experience.

There was very little documentation of her work. Mary came from a poor family and left school by age ten. How did you research this book? How long did you work on it?Īround the same time I was writing Becoming Little Women, I wrote a picture book called Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon about a girl in the early 1800s who became the first person to make a living selling fossils. I’m happy girls still read that novel, and still want to be like Jo, but I wanted to show that Louisa’s writing stemmed from enduring hardships as well as having good times, such as writing and acting in plays with her sisters.Ģ. Particularly in my generation, many girls who wanted to be writers, or dreamed of independence, identified with Jo in Little Women. I see this as the beginning of Louisa’s long, productive writing career, beginning at age ten. I believe the first journals, at least to survive, are those she kept at Fruitlands.

Louisa kept journals for most of her life, a habit I expect was important to her writing of fiction. Fruitlands is a difficult topic for adults, what prompted you to write about it for children? Someone who is certainly worthy of coming back to again and again.ġ. Susan, Thank you so much for the opportunity to reflect back on writing Becoming Little Women and the fascinating people who inspired my novel! And, always, for spreading your passion for Louisa May Alcott. As promised, here is the follow-up interview with Jeannine Atkins, the author of Becoming Little Women.

Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins