I’m
delighted to share with you the exciting news about author Jojo Moyes latest
release, THE GIVER OF STARS, which is based in truth.
Come
along with me to find out more about this intriguing story and see what the
author has to say.
In her
first novel since her global bestselling Me Before You trilogy, Jojo returns
to historical fiction with THE GIVER OF STARS (Pamela Dorman Books;
On sale: October 8, 2019; 9780399562488; $28), a powerful novel that Jojo says
she loved writing more than any other. Based on the true story of the Packhorse
Librarians of Kentucky, THE GIVER OF STARS takes readers on an
unforgettable journey, following five extraordinary women driven to enact
change through the magic of libraries.
Alice Wright is stuck. After a
whirlwind romance, she agrees to marry the handsome Bennett Van Cleve, leaving
her native England behind for a new life in Kentucky. But soon after arriving,
Alice finds her new life—with her oddly distant husband and overbearing
father-in-law, not to mention the unfamiliar culture of her new home—as
stifling as her old one.
When a call goes out for local women
to deliver books to the underserved mountain families as part of Eleanor
Roosevelt’s traveling library program, Alice sees the opportunity as a lifeline
and enthusiastically signs on. The group’s leader, and soon Alice’s greatest
ally, is the clever and daring Margery, a woman who refuses to be cowed by men
or convention. Soon, Alice and Margery are joined by others, including Beth,
the mischievous middle child of eight brothers; Izzy, the shy, disabled girl
who never thought she’d ride a horse and whose singing lifts the spirits of the
group in times of trouble; and Sophia, a fiercely intelligent black woman who
defies the town’s segregation laws to work for the library. Together, these
five diverse women form an unbreakable bond and become known as the Packhorse
Librarians of Kentucky.
The women become the face of change in
their staunchly traditional town, standing against the odds to fight both for
education and defy public opinion to be with the men they love. Enduring harsh
conditions and braving a multitude of dangers—from devastating floods to
belligerent moonshiners—the women saddle up and ride hundreds of miles a week
to bring books to those who have never had any, sharing the gift of learning in
a time where fact was at war with religion and ignorance.
At times
funny, at others heartbreaking, THE GIVER OF STARS is a richly
rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when
we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.
First,
let me share a letter written by Jojo to you the readers.
Dear Reader,
Fifteen
months ago, I read an article in the Smithsonian
magazine about the Horseback Librarians of Kentucky—a group of young women
employed by the US Government’s WPA scheme to go into the mountains after the
Great Depression and take books and magazines to families who might not
otherwise read a word.
Enduring
harsh conditions and braving all kinds of dangers—snakes, treacherous mountains,
moonshiners and criminals—they would saddle up and ride hundreds of miles a
week to read to the sick, teach children, encourage the spread of facts in a
time where religion and snake oil salesmen were able to battle for people’s
minds. They often faced fierce resistance, both for their sex and from families
who were suspicious of any reading materials other than The Bible, but worked
together in a system that lasted seven years across several states, bringing
everything from recipes to comic books, classics and biological texts to these
remote families. Many of them became beloved to the people they served.
The
photographic images of these young women were extraordinary, and their
relevance to today hit me hard. I traveled to this remote area of East Kentucky
on three separate research trips, rode the trails that the librarians would
have ridden and stayed in a remote log cabin so that I could experience nature
as they would have done (and was roundly told off for moving a snake with a
stick). I fell in love with the landscape and the storytelling people who
inhabit it.
The Giver of Stars is the
result—a story of five such women from very different backgrounds, brought
together in a tiny community in the mountains of Kentucky. The story is
fictional, but I have rested it on a skeleton of facts. I can honestly say I
have never loved writing a book more, or been more inspired by my subject
matter. I really hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I have loved
creating it.
Jojo
Moyes
PS. I was
built in a library. My parents didn’t have much money when I was growing up so
the weekly visit to the local library was a key part of my education, and my
love of reading. Libraries are one of the few resources where people can be
sheltered, educated and entertained without having to pay, and it pains me that
they are under such threat. Without knowledge, people have fewer opportunities
to move upwards. I hope The Giver of
Stars shows just how they can change lives—even, or especially, today.
Now come
along as Jojo answers some questions about her writing and her new release.
 |
| Author Jojo Moyes |
Fans who
follow you on social media might have tracked your trip to Kentucky to research
THE GIVER OF STARS. What was your research process like?
Jojo
Oh, I love research. I don’t believe you can write
effectively about a place without immersing yourself in it. I need the sights
and smells and stories. I visited Kentucky three times between 2017 and 2019
and stayed in a tiny cabin on the side of a mountain, rode horses along the
trails the women would have ridden, and talked to a lot of people, to try and
get not just the facts, but the rhythms of the language.
The
protagonist in THE GIVER OF STARS, Alice, is a British woman who moves
to Kentucky after marrying an American man. Why did you choose to include a
British character in this very American novel?
Jojo
Well, it felt pretty audacious to be writing about
Appalachia, even with research. I felt that if much of it was seen through the
eyes of someone unfamiliar with that world, it made everything a little more
accessible. Given it was such a closed world, I also liked the tensions inherent
in introducing someone “foreign” into it.
Jojo
Literacy
and censorship are huge issues in THE GIVER OF STARS, something that
affects the women of the novel very differently from the men. Why did you
choose to focus on these issues, and do you feel they are still relevant today?
Jojo
I think they’ve never been more relevant. We live in
an age where the very notions of truth and facts are under attack—without
knowledge we are prey to anyone who can work up a smart speech. Without
knowledge women have little control over their own bodies. There are numerous
ways in this book in which the acquisition of knowledge changes lives—protecting
their homes, educating their families, liberating themselves from marriages.
Many of
your books deal with class struggles, and THE GIVER OF STARS features
families from vastly different backgrounds. Why is this an important subject
matter to you, and how did you approach writing about class set during the
Great Depression?
Jojo
I did a lot of reading, and as with the modern day,
the poor seemed to be disproportionately affected. To read about the mining
communities of Depression era America is to see class inequalities laid bare in
the most explicit way. Many miners were little better than indentured slaves,
while the mine bosses made fortunes off the backs of their labour. Disputes
like Harlan were what happened when people attempted to push back. Also, I
wanted this book to be full-blooded, in terms of the violence of the age, as
well as the love stories. You can’t write about Kentucky of that period without
bringing the class struggles into it.
The librarians in THE
GIVER OF STARS are incredibly positive
about sex for women living in early twentieth-century Kentucky—the librarians
quietly distribute a book focused on female pleasure, and one of the women
stoutly refuses marriage, despite carrying on a relationship with a man for
several years. Was it essential for you to emphasize women’s agency in a time
when it was so limited? Were any of the characters based on real women you
encountered in your research?
One of the reasons I wanted to write this book in
the first place was that I wanted to write about a woman of a certain age (i.e.
not 21) having great sex with a mutually respectful partner. It happens! And
yet so often in fiction we don’t see it. A woman’s lot in Kentucky at that time
was a pretty rotten one much of the time—it was a very patriarchal society, and
domestic violence was rife—but I also discovered that the women of the state
are tough, proud, funny and resilient. I wanted Margery to reflect that, even
while the inequality showed through elsewhere.
THE GIVER
OF STARS is your first novel following the Me Before You trilogy. How
did it feel to step away from characters you’ve been writing for so long?
Jojo
It was tough leaving Louisa behind, but I fell so
hard in love writing this book that from the moment I arrived in Kentucky I
pretty much forgot her. I have never enjoyed writing a book like I enjoyed
writing this one: I wrote when I was meant to be on holiday, at weekends,
whenever I could spare half an hour to sit down. I didn’t want to leave it, or
these women. That rarely happens. So in that respect it was the loveliest way
to leave Me Before You behind.
The
librarians develop very close relationships with their horses, spending long,
solitary days with them while delivering books. Do you feel a special kinship
with horses? Why are the horses so important to the story?
Jojo
I have loved horses since I was five years old. For
me they were a route to strength, independence, and have given me some of the
loveliest relationships of my life. I felt that this shone out of those
pictures of the women—and of the reports I read. These were partnerships, and
the horses and the women understood each other.
What
draws you to historical fiction?
Jojo
I think it’s always story, whether it’s modern or
historical. Some fact or snippet just lodges in my brain and I can’t shift it.
If it stays for months then it’s usually insisting on being written about. It’s
no coincidence that this contains horses, love stories and library books—three
of my favourite things…
What does
the title THE GIVER OF STARS mean?
Jojo
The Giver of Stars
is the title of a poem that forms a pivotal moment of the story. It’s a
beautiful, tender, romantic poem that spells nothing out but leaves you a
little breathless and it was written by a woman who couldn’t express what she
really felt—a little like Alice and Frederick.
What are
the main themes of the book? What do you want people to take away from
reading THE GIVER OF STARS?
Jojo
I wanted to write a book about women who had agency,
and did worthwhile things, rather
than simply existing in a romantic or domestic plotline. These women achieved
epic things, and, more importantly, supported each other while doing it. I
reject the constantly pushed narrative that says women must always be in competition
with each other; in my experience other women have been my greatest friends and
supports and I wanted to show that. Mostly I want to entertain and transport
the reader a little, to make them laugh and cry. I really hope readers enjoy
reading THE GIVER OF STARS as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
For those
who aren’t familiar with Jojo, here’s a bit of background on her.
Jojo
Moyes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, Still
Me, After You, Me Before You, The Peacock Emporium, The Horse Dancer, Paris for
One and Other Stories, One Plus One, The Girl You Left Behind, The Last Letter
from Your Lover, Silver Bay, and The Ship of Brides.
She lives
with her husband and three children in Essex, England.
Thanks
for stopping by today. I know today’s post is a bit lengthy, but I thought you’d
enjoy the interesting tidbits. Does a story have more weight with you with if
it is based in truth?
