Lorelei asked Jennifer Egan:

The first book of yours that I read was The Keep, and I found it strongly evocative in a unique way, and I am curious about what inspired you and what kind of research you did for that book?

Jennifer Egan THE KEEP began with a visit to a ruined castle in Bouillon Belgium, where I experienced a certain kind of excitement I've learned to pay attention to--it means that the atmosphere around me is going to play a part in my fiction. I wondered whether I wanted to write a novel set in Medieval times, but on reflection that didn't feel right; it was more the faux-medievalism of the Gothic that interested me. For several years I immersed myself in Gothic fiction: everything from Anne Radcliffe to Stephen King. I did a lot of reading, too, on castle architecture, prison architecture and prison life. I also spent a long and interesting day at a prison in Marion, Ohio, which helped to animate my prison research. Thank you so much for reading, Lorri!!!

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