say.” Even after she became a critically beloved author
in her own right (Eva Moves the Furniture, The House
on Fortune Street), she found herself returning to
Brontë, as both a reader and a teacher (she is writer-in-residence at Boston’s Emerson College).
“Superficially, most of us have almost nothing in
common with Brontë’s heroine or her journey,” says
Livesey, “and yet, we identify passionately with the
novel. I think there’s something about the orphan’s
plight that speaks to our fears of being misunderstood
Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 Jane Eyre, min-
ing that perennial classic for themes and
motifs that resonated with her own life’s
journey. Three years, and a lifetime in
the making, Gemma Hardy, published
in January 2012, is not a mash-up, like
Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and
Prejudice and Zombies, or a reimagin-
ing, like Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, but
instead a wholly original, deeply felt
work that, in the author’s words, “writes
back to” Brontë’s indelible orphan.
or abandoned or lost. It’s our own story,
writ large, and also a tale of empower-
ment. Ultimately, Jane’s world makes
sense, which is something our own
world does not often do.”
The 59-year old Livesey, whose
earliest, unpublished efforts were, she
jokes, “unbelievably dreary, both bor-
ing and far-fetched, with characters
who do not speak like people in real
life, nor like characters in books,” exca-
vated aspects of her own challenging
upbringing—“at least the feelings I had
from that time,” she says—and set her story in the
1960s, on the eve of the feminist movement.
EMMA HARDY
Margot Livesey
“There are intricate links between
the character of Jane Eyre, the character of Gemma
Hardy and the nature of the writer Margot Livesey,”
says The Air We Breathe author Andrea Barrett, a
close friend of Livesey for more than 20 years. “All
three of them are passionate, intensely bright, fiercely
determined, stubborn and deeply responsive to the
natural world.”
Indeed, Jane Eyre was one of Livesey’s earliest
“friends,” a constant companion for a young girl raised
by a stern, “children should be seen, not heard” father
on the secluded campus of a private school. To while
away the time, young Livesey read and reread Eyre,
and began composing her own stories “about prin-
cesses and giants; traditional subject matter, I must
“One of my ambitions was that Gemma would be
not just a character, but a heroine, young as she is, and
one cannot be a heroine by simply making cups of
tea. You have to face down certain difficulties, and so
Gemma goes on a great and harrowing journey, and
her character grows and expands and gets stronger
on that journey,” says Livesey. “Of course, she is more
courageous than I am and much more outspoken in
a number of ways. I admire her.”
Though much of Gemma Hardy takes place on
Livesey’s old stomping grounds, the Scottish moors
and haunted, expansive manors and campuses, writ-
ing the novel required the author to make her own
adventurous journeys, all in the name of research. “I
went to Iceland to look for many things I needed for
the book, in October, when it was already freezing,
and perhaps not so much fun as in warmer months,”
she laughs. “I didn’t unzip my jacket for four days.”
The resulting novel, already critically adored
and rhapsodically received by readers, is a rich, profoundly human tapestry that addresses Hemingway’s
plight directly, as writer and reader both feel less
alone for its existence.
foundly human tapestry that addresses Hemingway’s
Jane Eyre was there
r
“I am very grateful that Jane Eyre was there
for me all of my life, and that Gemma Hardy
seems to be connecting with readers in
very powerful ways today,” Livesey says.
e
”
as
“In many ways, this novel was an absurd
undertaking, and yet, it does seem to be
reaching people very deeply. There is
not much better than that.” C
e
yd
book pıck
Her constant companion Author Margot Livesey pays homage to Jane Eyre
I OCCASIONALLY refer to
some books as “fast-food”
reads. While not full of sustenance, they’re thoroughly
enjoyable. And then there
are those books that leave
you 100 percent satis;ed and
richer for having read them.
Margot Livesey is an author
who always writes the latter
kind of book. Her latest, The
Flight of Gemma Hardy, is
no exception.
After the death of her
father, Gemma is sent from
her native Iceland to live
with relatives in Scotland.
When her uncle passes
away, she escapes her
resentful aunt by earning
a scholarship to a private
school. The school later
goes out of business, and
Gemma takes an au pair
position on the Orkney
Islands. Even before she
meets Mr. Sinclair—the
father of her young
charge—she ;nds herself
drawn to the worldly
businessman.
I hope readers will see
this story as more than a
modern retelling of Jane
Eyre. It’s a ful;lling novel
that stands on its own.
For more book picks,
see page 61.
COSTCO HAS 50 COPIES of Margot Livesey’s
The Flight of Gemma Hardy with signed
bookplates to give away. To enter, go to Costco.
com, search for “JulBookPick” and follow the
instructions. Or print your name, address and
daytime phone number on a postcard or letter
and send it to: Margot Livesey, The Costco
Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA
98124-1088.
NO PURCHASE, PAYMENT OR OPT-IN OF ANY KIND IS
NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES.
Purchase will not improve odds of winning. Sweepstakes is sponsored
by Harper Collins, 10 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022. Open to legal residents
of the U. S. (except Puerto Rico) who are age 18 or older at the time of
entry. One entry per household. Entries must be received by August 1,
2012. Winners will be randomly selected and noti;ed by mail on or before
September 1, 2012. The value of the prize is $15.99. Void where prohibited.
Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state and local taxes.
Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
Employees of Costco or HarperCollins and their families are not eligible.
Signed book giveaway
