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Historical Fiction

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03:59

A Historical Novel Worth Checking Out.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Monday's Warriors" by Maurice Shadbolt, about Maoris fighting the British Imperialists in New Zealand. (published by David Godine)

Review
14:24

Author Allen Kurzweil.

Author Allen Kurzweil. Kurzweil's new book, "A Case of Curiosities," is a comic novel about the life of a 18th Century watchmaker living in France in the days before the Revolution. (It's published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
22:28

Pakistani Writer Bapsi Sidhwa.

Pakistani writer Bapsi Sidhwa (Bop-see SEED-wah). Her new novel is "Cracking India," which tells the story of the Partition of India through the eyes of an eight-year-old girl named Lenny. Sidhwa has written other novels as well, "The Bride," and "Ice-Candy-Man," both stories told through female characters. She'll talk with Terry about her books and women's rights in Pakistan.

Interview
18:28

Journalist Turned Novelist Ward Just.

Writer Ward Just. Just's new novel, "The Translator," is a thriller set in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Just has written nearly a dozen other novels, including "Jack Gance" and "The American Ambassador." Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Just was a journalist, covering the Vietnam War for Newsweek. ("The translator" is published by Houghton Mifflin). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
27:40

Novelist E.L. Doctorow Reimagines the Past

The author's books follow the lives of fictional characters in real historical situations. Several of them have been made into films. Doctorow's newest novel, Billy Bathgate, takes place in the criminal underworld of early-twentieth-century New York City.

Interview
47:47

A Novelist Finds New Stories in American History

Writer E.L. Doctorow is known for using real-life historical figures as characters in his period novels. Best known for his book Ragtime, his novel Loon Lake is now available in paperback. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the day-to-day work of a writer and how his job as an editor affected his prose.

Interview

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