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Mary Doria Russell

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.marydoriarussell.net/

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Literature & Fiction

Member Since

November 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/marydoriarussell

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Mary Doria Russell is an American author. She was born in 1950 in the suburbs of Chicago. Her parents were both in the military; her father was a Marine Corps drill sergeant, and her mother was a Navy nurse.

She holds a Ph.D. in Paleoanthropology from the University of Michigan, and has also studied cultural anthropology at the University of Illinois, and social anthropology at Northeastern University in Boston. Russell lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband Don and their two dogs.

Mary is shy about online stuff like Goodreads, but she responds to all email, and would prefer to do that through her website.

Photo by Jeff Rooks

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Popular Answered Questions

What was the most difficult part about getting your first book published? And if you had it over, would you do something differently?

Mary Doria Russell Well, the fact that my first book was about Jesuits in space didn't exactly help! Getting turned down by 31 agencies was awful and I probably should h…moreWell, the fact that my first book was about Jesuits in space didn't exactly help! Getting turned down by 31 agencies was awful and I probably should have given up, but ultimately it worked out. The Sparrow will be reissued with a 20th anniversary edition next year.(less)

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I'm about to read #Epitaph, and I haven't got any prior knowledge regarding to the book. So I'd like to ask whether it be better if I'd watched "Gunfight at the O.K.Corral" film (1957) before start reading?

Mary Doria Russell Oh, Lord! NO! Not that one. As you'll learn at the end of Epitaph, the movies of the 1940s-1980s present very inaccurate portrayals of what happened i…moreOh, Lord! NO! Not that one. As you'll learn at the end of Epitaph, the movies of the 1940s-1980s present very inaccurate portrayals of what happened in Arizona in 1881 and why.

The best movie is "Tombstone" with Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. There are factual errors in that as well, but it's the closest to reality. There is a great deal of operatic violence at the end, but that's the way the American mythology about the gunfight has evolved. If you watch that movie, then you'll be aware of how the story has been simplified into Good Guys versus Bad Guys.

All the characters in Epitaph are real. I tried to be fair and compassionate to every one of them, but I was also writing about how the gunfight became central to American beliefs about the West. You can see how this plays out in contemporary politics, as well. I hope you like the book.(less)

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Mary Doria Russell’s books

Average rating: 4.04 · 233,104 ratings · 22,457 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz, #1) by Walter M. Miller Jr., Mary Doria Russell (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.98 avg rating — 103,642 ratings — published 1959 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1) 4.13 avg rating — 70,988 ratings — published 1996 — 55 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Children of God (The Sparrow, #2) 4.08 avg rating — 19,903 ratings — published 1998 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Doc 3.99 avg rating — 15,958 ratings — published 2011 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Thread of Grace: A Novel 4.01 avg rating — 14,171 ratings — published 2005 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Women of the Copper Country 4.11 avg rating — 6,467 ratings — published 2019 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Epitaph 4.13 avg rating — 5,748 ratings — published 2015 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dreamers of the Day 3.65 avg rating — 5,941 ratings — published 2008 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ballantine Reader's Circle Reader by Jane Smiley (Goodreads Author), Mark Childress (Goodreads Author), Elizabeth Berg 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1999	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Mary Doria Russell's Blog

I’m still alive!

I’ve gotten a couple of emails asking “Are you okay?” because it’s been so long since I posted on the website, and – you know – covid. Yes, I’m fine, but there are now three things to share, so I’ll see if I can remember how to send out a blog post!

Thing One: It looks like a screen adaptation of The Sparrow may finally be made. Scott Frank, the screenwriter for “Queen’s Gambit,” is writing all the

Series by Mary Doria Russell

The Sparrow (2 books)
by

Mary Doria Russell (Goodreads Author)

4.12 avg rating — 90,873 ratings

Doc Holliday (2 books)
by

Mary Doria Russell (Goodreads Author)

4.03 avg rating — 21,704 ratings

Her Favorite Westerns: Not just for gunslingers, the real Wild West comes to life in these five frontier tales recommended by the author of Epitaph.

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Mary Doria Russell wrote a new blog post I’m still alive! I’ve gotten a couple of emails asking “Are you okay?” because it’s been so long since I posted on the website, and – you know – covid. Yes, I’m fine, Read more of this blog post »
Apr 04, 2021 12:04AM · 30 likes · like

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Quotes by Mary Doria Russell (?)

“I do what I do without hope of reward or fear of punishment. I do not require Heaven or Hell to bribe or scare me into acting decently.”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow

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“There's an old Jewish story that says in the beginning God was everywhere and everything, a totality. But to make creation, God had to remove Himself from some part of the universe, so something besides Himself could exist. So He breathed in, and in the places where God withdrew, there creation exists."

So God just leaves?"

No. He watches. He rejoices. He weeps. He observes the moral drama of human life and gives meaning to it by caring passionately about us, and remembering."

Matthew ten, verse twenty-nine: Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it."

But the sparrow still falls.”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow

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“How can you hear your soul if everyone is talking?”
― Mary Doria Russell, Children of God

tags: solitude, soul

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Polls

OCTOBER SCIENCE FICTION: This poll decides which 2 novels move on to the run-off poll for our October SF Book of the Month.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

15 votes, 25.4%

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

9 votes, 15.3%

Slow River by Nicola Griffith

8 votes, 13.6%

Archangel by Sharon Shinn

7 votes, 11.9%

Grass by Sheri S. Tepper

7 votes, 11.9%

Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt

5 votes, 8.5%

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany

5 votes, 8.5%

Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward

3 votes, 5.1%

59 total votes

4 comments

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