Maria
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I recently finished reading a biography of T.E. Lawrence and am now reading his book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. I was struck by some parallels between his life and Miles Vorkosigan's. Was Lawrence an inspiration for you, or am I imagining things?
Lois McMaster Bujold
Yes, he was. One of them, at any rate -- very seldom does inspiration have only one source. (The young Winston Churchill also has a foot in there, somewhere.)
The movie came out when I was a teen; I followed up with a lot of reading about the man himself including that memoir, which was a deal more complex and a bit beyond what my shallow teen brain could process, but I suppose the stretch was good for it. My understanding grew better as I grew older and learned more, both about the period of history and people generally. It has been some decades since I revisited Seven Pillars; it would be interesting to reread it again now and see how much it has changed, including in light of a half-century more of history unfolding. :-)
Also interesting, if you can find a copy, is Lawrence's The Mint. A tinge of that went into Camp Permafrost, in an oblique sort of way.
Ta, L.
Yes, he was. One of them, at any rate -- very seldom does inspiration have only one source. (The young Winston Churchill also has a foot in there, somewhere.)
The movie came out when I was a teen; I followed up with a lot of reading about the man himself including that memoir, which was a deal more complex and a bit beyond what my shallow teen brain could process, but I suppose the stretch was good for it. My understanding grew better as I grew older and learned more, both about the period of history and people generally. It has been some decades since I revisited Seven Pillars; it would be interesting to reread it again now and see how much it has changed, including in light of a half-century more of history unfolding. :-)
Also interesting, if you can find a copy, is Lawrence's The Mint. A tinge of that went into Camp Permafrost, in an oblique sort of way.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Seantheaussie
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Since the debut of the ebook have you "punched up" the "kindle sample" beginnings of your books, because they are now effectively part of the marketing? I think books used to be like movies, which could start slowly because people had already paid (sunk cost fallacy). They are now like TV shows, that have to grab and hold flighty viewers.
Ara Sedaka
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[
The ending of Cryoburn was brilliant + beautiful + heartbreaking. I was intrigued by the closing lines that link back to Shards of Honor and imply that Cordelia has come to embrace the Barrayaran concept that sometimes life is not worth living. I felt this intensifies and complicates the series' message of disability rights. Does this reflect a change in your own philosophy or were you always planning to end there?
(hide spoiler)]
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