by Kirby Larson
One of the reasons I am drawn to writing historical fiction is that it can help us understand ourselves in the here and now. To be fair, I should say it helps me understand myself in the here and now. It may do the same for you. Young women had limited options in the early nineteen hundreds, yet girls like Hattie not only survived, they thrived. Elizabeth Jane Cochran, better known as Nellie Bly, was only eighteen when she took on her first reporting assignment. And for every Nellie Bly who achieved fame and fortune, there were hundreds of plucky unknowns whose stories are equally fascinating. Take Hazel Lagenour, for example, who was the first woman to swim across the Golden Gate channel—a formidable challenge. She did it on August 19, 1911. You can watch a silent movie of the event at archive.org/details/ssfGGSWIM. The very next day, August 20, Nellie Schmidt beat Hazel’s time, swimming the channel in forty-two minutes. Though men had swum that waterway before, none of the men who attempted to swim across that August day with Nellie succeeded. I have to cheer when “ordinary” females like Hazel and Nellie do something extraordinary. I am fortunate that my work allows me to poke around in the past, uncovering amazing and inspiring anecdotes of strong girls and women, so that I can bring them to my readers’ attention.
Yes, I did a copious amount of research for this book. But my efforts were fueled by the desire to get this story—the story of seventeen-year-old orphan Hattie Inez Brooks trying to find her place in the world—absolutely right. Feel free to let me know how I did in that regard.
About the Author
A snippet of a family story transformed Kirby Larson from history-phobe to history fanatic and led her to write the Newbery Honor–winning novel Hattie Big Sky. She now loves nothing better than peering at microfiche, rummaging in archives, and rescuing old letters and postcards in her efforts to poke around in the past. Her most recent book is The Friendship Doll.
A New York Times bestselling author, Kirby has partnered with her dear friend Mary Nethery to write award-winning nonfiction picture books, including Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival.
When Kirby is not digging around in history, she is walking on the beach with her husband, Neil, and Winston the Wonder Dog. She loves looking for sea glass, wishing rocks, and pieces of history others pass right on by. Learn more about her at kirbylarson.com, or read her blog at kirbyslane.blogspot.com.