Jane Smiley
Photo credit: Mark Bennington.

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Writers on the Record with Victoria Lautman

Jane Smiley

/ May 23, 2010 / Private Life

Whether imagining contemporary society or the distant past, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Jane Smiley’s ability to synthesize earlier authors and literary forms makes her a uniquely versatile author. She’s to reinvented ancient Norse sagas (The Greenlanders), reinterpreted Shakespeare’s King Lear (1000 Acres), and updated Boccaccio’s Decameron into an erotic Hollywood fable (Ten Days in the Hills), while satirizing Midwestern university life (Moo) and immersing readers in the racing world (Horse Heaven). Private Life begins in rural Missouri circa 1880 and winds up in Northern California during WWII, an epic historical span that focuses on small-town girl Margaret Mayfield and her unfortunate marriage to an eccentric scientist. In this spirited interview, Jane Smiley talks about her family members on whom Private Life is based.Listen Now

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