soda
asked
Matthew Pearl:
How do you come up with novel ideas? For instance, are you big fans of Dante and Poe?
Matthew Pearl
Thanks for asking, Seregon. Yes, many of my ideas come from subjects I have always been interested in. I started reading Poe in high school, for example, and studied Dante in college. But sometimes I get interested in a subject without knowing much about. That was the case for my novel The Technologists. I had the idea for a story about the first class at MIT but didn't yet know much about it's history. So an idea for a story can come from an interest or lead me to a new interest.
More Answered Questions
Sheila
asked
Matthew Pearl:
Yours are the only books where I have reference books at the ready when I read them. I love to be challenged by your grasp of these literary figures and their environment. I am a librarian and have turned on members of our book club to your books. My son and I spent many nights playing "authors" the card game and he still remembers the names of all of the authors. Do you ever come to the West coast?
Janellyn51
asked
Matthew Pearl:
I was just looking at my copy of Robinson Crusoe, which doesn't have a date of publication....the dedication, Puzzle Prize Mary A. Galivan 1884, so pretty old.....I was wondering about bookaneers, did they only pirate books before they were published anywhere? I know I saw you at Porter Square and you had a pirated edition of a book, I can't remember how you can tell the difference! Can I have a refresher course?
Jacob Debrock
asked
Matthew Pearl:
Which of your books had the most interesting subject matter for you?
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