The author reflects on her long journey in writing biographies, particularly about Margaret Fuller, a significant figure in American history. A misunderstanding arises when she receives an invitation to speak about a novel, 'Finding Margaret Fuller,' instead of her factual biography. This leads to her frustration over the prioritization of fiction over historical accuracy, contemplating whether the community values storytelling over factual representations of their literary heritage. The author admits to a lapse in patience, regretting her response to the librarian.
I realized my mistake: It wasn't my book that had been chosen for the town to read. It was Finding Margaret Fuller, Allison Pataki's newly published historical novel.
I'd just spent five years collaborating with two Fuller scholars on Margaret Fuller: Collected Writings, which was published in February by the Library of America.
Could this history-conscious blue-state exurb really have chosen fiction over fact? But I can't be pardoned for blowing up at a librarian.
Had she read far enough in the book to find that Pataki's Margaret Fuller knows how to swim? (Fuller drowned in 1850 at age 40 in a shipwreck within sight of shore).
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