We chat with author Elise Hooper about The Library of Lost Dollhouses, which follows a young librarian who discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, and embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Hi, Elise! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I live in Seattle and write fiction about women who’ve been underestimated and overlooked by history—as you can imagine, that gives me a lot of material. I live in Seattle with my husband, two teenaged daughters, and rescue dog, Ramona Quimby.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I have a happy memory of sitting at a card table in the living room of my childhood home when I must have been about six or seven, writing and illustrating my own series of little fairy books inspired by Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairy books.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. With her plays, newspapers, and short stories, Jo felt like a kindred spirit to me and she was my first glimpse into life as a writer–I liked what I saw.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Quirky characters, funny dialog, and a globetrotting adventure? Yes, please.
Your latest novel, The Library of Lost Dollhouses, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Hide your secrets in dollhouses!
What can readers expect?
A dual-timeline novel in which an early twentieth-century miniaturist hides her client’s secrets in their dollhouses and a modern-day librarian sets out to unravel these mysterious messages and learn more about her own family in the process.
Where did the inspiration for The Library of Lost Dollhouses come from?
My great grandmother’s dollhouse! I inherited the dollhouse and restored it as part of my research for this novel and this has led me to become fully obsessed with creating miniatures.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
After learning to be a miniaturist for this novel, I loved imagining and writing the scenes in which my dollhouse maker is at work and building. Many of her creations are inspired by miniatures I’ve spotted in famous museums and collections like Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Stettheimer Dollhouse.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Writing a dual-timeline is tricky business! At one point I covered an entire wall of my office with notecards outlining the two storylines to track them better. My poor dog accompanied me on a lot of long walks, during which I thought long and hard about how I could create a cohesive story set in the past and present. I finally got the pieces to come together by refusing to give up on it.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently at work on a novel set in 1950s Seattle, which is fun because this is the first time I’ve written about where I live, so I’m learning a lot!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
Honestly, my summer reading list is already out of control! I’m sure a few highlights will be Karen Dukess’s Welcome to Murder Week and Atmosphere, the newest book by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
