photo by Nick Vagnoni
Valerie Martin is the author of three collections of short fiction, including The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories; several novels, including Tresspass and Mary Reilly, which was made into a movie with Julia Roberts and John Malkovich; and a nonfiction work about St. Francis of Assisi.
In this recording from the 27th Key West Literary Seminar, Martin reads from her Orange Prize-winning historical novel, Property. Set on a plantation outside New Orleans in 1828, Property is narrated by Manon Gaudet, a slaveowner whose husband has fathered two children with one of Manon’s slaves. In the passage presented here, Manon meets with her brother-in-law following an insurrection in which Manon has been shot in the shoulder, the slave has run away, and her husband has been killed.
From KWLS 2009: Historical Fiction and the Search for Truth
Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:54 — 6.4MB)
This recording is available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights belong to the author. © 2009 Valerie Martin. Used with permission from Valerie Martin.
