We chat with author Serena Burdick about The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey, which tells the story of literary secrets, a family curse and the lengths women will go to take charge of their future.
Hi, Serena! Thanks for joining us again! How have the past two years been since we last spoke?
Good! Writing and researching away.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
I was six years old when I read, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken, which takes place in an old manor house in an English countryside. Sound familiar? Hooked on books, writing, and all things historical ever since.
Your latest novel, The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Literary scandal, mystery, betrayal, and lies.
What can readers expect?
A multi-generational, dual-timeline. England, 1898. Evelyn marries a famous writer and six years later mysteriously disappears. California, 2006, Abby has never known her father and sets out to find him. Emersed in her great, great, grandmother, Evelyn’s story, Abby starts asking questions. Did Evelyn’s husband murder her? Were the generations to follow cursed? It is an ode to the power of a story, and how we carry these stories through the generations.
Where did the inspiration for The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey come from?
The modern-day character of Abby was inspired by my sister, who never knew her father—we share a mother—and Evelyn’s story was influenced by my love of Wilkie Collins. He was a Victorian, sensation novelist, and one of the first English mystery writers. I wanted to see what would it look like if a writer took the “sensation” novel too far. Where do the lines between reality and literature blur? And just how much can we make our readers believe?
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I started this book 17 years ago. It was rejected, rewritten, and ultimately shelved. When my agent sold it all these years later, I found returning to it harder than I imagined. I was not the same writer I was when I began. To make this book something I could be proud of, meant completely dismantling it. There were aspects of the story I was painfully attached to that simply didn’t work, which meant cutting entire sections/characters/plotlines. It was like taking apart a puzzle, recutting all the pieces, and somehow making them fit back together. Accomplishing it was extremely rewarding, but it’s still one of the hardest writing tasks I’ve done to date!
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved the idea of a curse. I write very practical, historical fiction, but the idea of a generation of cursed women—especially if the curse came from a woman seeking revenge—felt very plausible and real to me.
Can you tell us about your research for this novel?
This novel originally started as a thesis paper for my final semester at Brooklyn College. I was steeped in nineteenth century Victorian novels, which meant my research came primarily from fiction. I did take a trip to Burford England and walked the streets my character Abby took. I crossed Pack Horse Bridge, sat in the church green, and climbed the hill to a manor house that would become Evelyn Aubrey’s Abbington Hall.
What’s next for you?
I am working on a novel that spans 1930-1950, with a portion of the book taking place in the south of France during WWII. It’s dips into the life of heiress Peggy Guggenhiem, but is ultimately about stolen art, a husband and wife torn apart by the war years, dark pasts, love affairs, and the search for redemption.
Lastly, what have been some of your favourite 2022 reads? Any 2023 releases our readers should look out for?
Favorites of 2022: The Paris Bookseller, Kerri Maher, The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell and Time Is a Mother, Ocean Vuong.
2023 releases to look out for: Code Name Sapphire, Pam Jenoff and Nothing Special, Nicole Flattery
