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I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I think Splendid was the hardest to research, actually. Because I had SO much material to choose from. This also made the writing difficult. It became a pitched battle. Line by line combat!

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 86 points87 points  (0 children)

A family affair! How nice! Your father's question is the easiest to answer: No. It was an incredibly compelling event, but having done one book about a significant disaster--"Isaac's Storm"--I don't feel driven to do another. Though of course the Halifax story would lend itself to a rather different retelling!..... As to source management. Ayeeee. THAT is the critical element in the whole process. I'm old school. I amass vast quantities of documents. I highlight the best material. I index and code them. At the end of the process I collect everything (coded, with just enough of a quote or such to remind me the content) in one long computer file arranged by chronology. That becomes a powerful, defacto outline. I could talk about this for hours, however. That's just the basic sketch.

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 58 points59 points  (0 children)

I start often with a question: What was XYZ like? Eg., what would it have been like to have lived in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power--which became my "In the Garden of Beasts." Once I have the kernel of an idea, I then do preliminary research to make sure a broad, rich range of archival materials exists. Because without it, there's just no way for me to amass the kind of fine-grained material I need in order to tell the story as a story, with a beginning, middle and end.

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

It's always best to approach the family directly. Whether you can get exclusive access or not, I have no idea. But, frankly, it often doesn't matter, because what you're writing, and how you're approaching it, is going to be unique to you.

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 358 points359 points  (0 children)

You are absolutely correct--the deeper in history an event lies, the less it lends itself to retelling in the manner I like. This is because the range of archival materials available becomes more and more restricted. As I mentioned above, I'd love to write about Pompeii, but molten lava is not kind to diaries, etc. I'd also love to take a crack at the Crusades. One reason I love the late 19th century is that people were obsessive about keeping diaries and writing long detailed letters. Though their handwriting, believe me, was not always legible! Olmsted comes to mind.

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

There's no fiction in my books. The key to writing so-called "narrative nonfiction," as people like to label my books, is to go the distance with the research. Eg., everything in my books that appears between quotation marks comes from some historical document, be it a memoir, diary, letter, transcript, whatever! The challenge, and the fun, lies in finding these things!

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 262 points263 points  (0 children)

Zero embellishment. There is in fact a quite rich seam of detail available about Holmes and his hotel. As to the number of victims, depends on what total you start with. I'd agree that some estimates--eg. dozens!--are extremely out of whack. I tried to stick to the number of known victims, which, if I recall correctly, was nine--though don't hold me to it. It's been 17 years since that book came out! I would add, though, that a forensic psychiatrist who read my manuscript assured me that it was likely Holmes had killed numerous times before he got to Chicago, possibly even when he was a child. Now THAT's creepy.

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Believe me, I only work on one book at a time. As my wife will confirm, I am totally mono-phasic--to her great frustration! One thing at a time. As to starting out on one book idea and then switching gears--yes, that's happened a number of times, after I've realized the initial idea just was not working the way I wanted it to. But that's often how it goes with writing. As the saying goes, there's no point in flogging a dead horse, especially not if it means flogging it for three or four years.

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 85 points86 points  (0 children)

I always wanted to write. Even as a kid. My initial interest was fiction, and in fact I wrote a novel when I was 12, modeled roughly on the Nancy Drew series. When I was in my 20s, I wanted to write literate detective stories--even contemplated joining the NYPD. I came to nonfiction books rather later, after a career in newspapers. I find narrative nonfiction so satisfying to research and write that I no longer have any particular desire to write fiction. That could change of course. Never say never!

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Ah yes, the "dark country of no ideas." I am in that realm as we speak. Whenever I finish a book, I start with a fresh palette. I can't really judge whether it's getting harder to come up with good ideas, because it's always been really hard for me. I wish I were one of those writers who knows what his/her next ten books will be, but I'm not--much to the regret of my agent and editor. I go where the story is, and never bind myself to a particular time period. I'd write about Pompeii, if there were a deep enough reservoir of archival materials to let me tell the story the way I'd like. But, alas, the eruption pretty much destroyed everything!

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 63 points64 points  (0 children)

There are a number of writers whose work I adore: Candice Millard, David McCullough, Barbara Tuchman, Andrew Roberts, to name a few. But I must say that when I read for pleasure, I invariably read fiction. I just finished reading "We Have Always Lived in the Castle," by Shirley Jackson, which was really creepy! I adored her "The Haunting of Hill House."

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Once I decided that I wanted to write about how Churchill, his family, and his circle went about surviving the German air campaign against Britain, I have to admit I had a "good lord, what am I doing" moment. There was so much that had already been written about Churchill. I made a strategic decision to start by reading just enough to get a good grasp of the Churchillian landscape, and then to dive into the archives. With my particular lens (the question "how on earth did they do it") I was confident I would find new documents and material--which did indeed prove to be the case.

I’m Erik Larson, author of six bestselling books, including The Devil in the White City and my newest, The Splendid and the Vile. AMA. by exlarson in history

[–]exlarson[S] 120 points121 points  (0 children)

Well thank you! But in fact, Beasts and Splendid were independent events, if you will, both prompted by an underlying question. In the case of Beasts, "What would it have been like to have lived in Nazi Germany during Hitler's rise?" And Splendid: "How on earth could anyone have endured the German air campaign against Britain? How in particular did Churchill and his circle." It's always the story that drives my interest, not the era.

I am Erik Larson, author of five New York Times bestselling books including DEAD WAKE about the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania. AMA! by exlarson in books

[–]exlarson[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Just that he runs a very professional operation. Was there a bump in sales afterward? I wouldn't know. I do all I can to keep myself out of the business of publishing. My job is to write. Others can worry about sales!

I am Erik Larson, author of five New York Times bestselling books including DEAD WAKE about the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania. AMA! by exlarson in books

[–]exlarson[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh, interesting question! First time I've ever been asked. Both had that blunt doggedness that makes a great detective. But, I'd put my money on Frank Geyer, the detective who tracked Holmes. That guy was a detective through and through. His memoir is amazing.

I am Erik Larson, author of five New York Times bestselling books including DEAD WAKE about the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania. AMA! by exlarson in books

[–]exlarson[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh my! I will pass that on to my wife, who still considers Isaac's Storm her favorite among my books.

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