Simon Mawer: "Trapeze"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-06-12/simon-mawer-trapeze
Young Marian Sutro is barely out of school when she is recruited to be a spy in France. At a time of Nazi occupation, she finds herself putting her life and her heart at risk for her country. Novelist Simon Mawer blended fact and fiction in his new book, “Trapeze.” It pays homage to the spies of the British Special Operations Executive in World War II. Mawer is the author of “The Glass Room,” which was short listed for the Man Booker Prize. A trained biologist, he says artists who don’t have science are severely limited. Diane talks with writer Simon Mawer.
Guests
Simon Mawer
author of "The Glass Room," "The Fall," "The Gospel of Judas" and Mendel's Dwarf."
Related Items
Read An Excerpt
Excerpt from "Trapeze" by Simon Mawer. Copyright 2012 by Simon Mawer. Reprinted here by permission of Other Press. All rights reserved.
Comments
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Just out of curiosity, what does a photo that includes modern jet airplanes have to do with WWII?
Please recommend his novel "The Fall." It is extraordinary.
Was the author influenced in any way by the true story of Hannah Szenes, a 23 year old Hungarian born Jewish woman who as a Zionist from British mandate Palestine parachuted into Hungary to rescue Jews? She was caught and executed.
This author is incorrectly using the term "clandestine" when he should be using the term "covert." Sorry, but I just thought I should point this out.
Can the author comment on the history implied in "A Quiet Courage" by Lianne Jones published in the mid 1990's. Specifically the implication that some of the women in the French underground were betrayed by someone in the British intelligence establishment.
Rude, but I was wondering whether Mr Mawer knew of (and liked?) the novels of Alan Furst, who also covers some of this territory?
I just recently returned from a trip to Normandy in France. We visited the US Ranger Museum and Pointe de Hoc. The Rangers who landed at Pointe de Hoc trained in Scotland and the Isle of Wight. Was that the same place that you write about in the book?
When I listen to Diane interviewing someone who has written a work of fiction, the way she talks about the characters and events as if they are real people and real events seems really odd to me. Is it just me?