Exclusive interview with author Serena Burdick about her book set during the Belle Epoque
Rating: 3 Stars
“On a spring afternoon in a Brooklyn park as my sister and I watched our children clamber over play structures,” says Girl in the Afternoon author Serena Burdick. “I was searching for an idea for a novel, and my sister, an outstanding painter, suggested I write about Paris and the impressionist artists. I wanted to write about a female impressionist. They don’t get nearly as much attention as the male impressionists, or the models of the male impressionists. I intentionally veered away from writing from the perspective of the muse of a famous male artist, which is what a lot of historical fiction written about artists does.”
The story of a girl from a wealthy family in Paris who wants to be an artist in the 1870s? A great concept for a book. 18-year-old Aimée Savaray dreams of becoming a respected painter in the male-dominated art world. Her parents are wealthy Parisians, part of Belle Epoque society. Henri is an English boy, about her age, who’s been part of the family since he was a child. Aimée is falling in love with her adopted brother. After they kiss, Henri disappears. The Franco-Prussian war is raging all around them, putting everyone’s life in jeopardy. Aimée immerses herself in art. Édouard Manet mentors her. Will Henri return?
For a book about an artist, readers may be expecting more visual details about her art and more drama to bring life to the heroine. A beautiful young daughter off to an artist’s studio without a maid or chaperone to keep on eye on her? Until she gets caught modeling nude, Aimée’s parents seem to have no plans for her life. When her family decides they expect her to marry, they lack ideas of who would be suitable. The drama is with her mother.
“Edouard Manet shows up in Girl In The Afternoon,” says Burdick. “But, he’s not the focal point of the story. And neither is the art itself. I did this to reflect the idea that women couldn’t have it all. Men could have their art, their lover, their wife, but when a woman’s life became complicated with passion or family obligation, her art was forced by the wayside, if not forgotten altogether.”
Burdick researched French history, the Impressionists and Edouard Manet through books and maps. “I learned to navigate the streets of Paris while immersing myself in Emile Zola novels. I kept handwritten notes with categories for food, transportation, clothes, architecture, furniture…. I read the 1,000-page diary of the Russian female impressionist Marie Bashkirtseff. I also read the diary of Julet Manet, the daughter of the female impressionist Berthe Morisot, as well as the niece of Edouard Manet.”
She used the University of Massachusetts Du Bois Library. “It’s the second tallest library in the world. My dad took me there as a child and I remember holding his hand as I stared in awe at floor upon floor of books.
“My research material was gathered through the library’s extensive database, and from the help of the research librarians, who, I have discovered, are the most valuable resource a writer can have,” added Burdick.
Burdick, also an actor, had written short stories throughout her life, but never tried to get any of them published. “I figured the competition was so great it would take me just as long to get a short story published as a novel.” Burdick has a second novel at a publisher now. Girl in the Afternoon has yet to be optioned for film or TV.
Burdick is currently writing her third novel, which takes place in New York City in 1915. Her book tour promoting Girl in the Afternoon has her at events and signings all over the United States. This month’s dates include September 19th in Boston at Porter Square Books, on the 24th in Greenfield, Massachusetts, at World Eye Bookshop, and the 29th in Weymouth, Massachusetts, at the Weymouth Library and Tufts Library.
Burdick lives in Greenfield, Massachusetts. She was born in nearby Northampton.
Girl in the Afternoon by Serena Burdick. Hardcover: 288 pages, Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (July 12, 2016), Language: English, ISBN: 9781250082671 $25.99
