Historical Fiction
Date Published: 08-24-2023
The Missy Box
In 1685 two ten-year-old girls cross the Atlantic, one in the hold of a
slave ship, and the other at the Captain’s table of a royal Danish
Ship. On St. Thomas their lives will become intertwined, along with that of
Mette, the brothel keeper, and Isaac and Pundi, two other wanderers who have
landed in this fomenting place at the dawn of its plantation history.
Eighty-five years later, in Copenhagen, this family story is uncovered by
Maria Suhm, the way many are, through treasures kept hidden. The Missy Box
gives up its secrets with tantalizing reluctance, against a backdrop in 1772
of historical scandal and conspiracy that will bring Denmark to a
crisis.
The Missy Box is an imagined story based on the young life of Maria Suhm
Wheelock, the wife of the second President of Dartmouth College and her
great grandmother, Maria Bourdoux Lasalle, a Huguenot refugee from
France.
Set in a time before the interior of American had been discovered by
Europeans, the Missy Box recreates a world connected by oceans, peopled by
refugees, and the kings who controlled their fates.
INTERVIEW
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?
Not really. My goal was to thoroughly immerse the reader in a world (actually two worlds) very different from their own. The world of oceans, before the interior of America was discovered and the connections between cultures flowed on the oceans.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
The challenge in writing this book was to grapple with the world of slavery. The extreme pain of it was both hard to convey and offputting, which posed a dilemma. If you write what really was happening, no one would want to read the book. The most difficult scene was a rape scene. Some have asked why I included that because it is challenging to read, but I think it was necessary to express the extremes of slavery.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I wrote one other book, Letters from Erastus: Field Notes on Grace, which is a hybrid memoir based on discovering my Great geat grandfather’s life, and using it as a way to communicate with my cousin, in prison for murder. It won a literary prize and I am quite proud of it in terms of writing and construction. But it is impossible to say which is my favorite!
If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
I think I would cast Sally Field as Maria and Viola Davis as Akila (both when they were younger, of course!)
When did you begin writing?
When I was about thirteen
How long did it take to complete your first book?
About six years.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
Wallace Stegner is to me the most remarkable American writer.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Researching the material. Finding delicious words.
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
Dark, adventurous, real history
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your writing?
I am also a painter, so I am taking a break from writing and painting right now. I love writing historical fiction and I love exploring the world of my ancestors. I’m thinking about my Canadian ancestors arriving in a snowy wilderness with a covered wagon and seven children. But who knows?
About the Author
Anne Emerson is a writer and a painter in Jamaica Plain Massachusetts. Her
award winning first book, Letters from Erastus: Field Notes on Grace was
published by Levellers Press in Amherst MA. The Missy Box is an imagined
story based on the author's 13th great grandmother, a Huguenot
refugee.
Contact Links
Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Purchase Link
Amazon
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Posts
0 Comments