Hans Christian Anderson hoped to find a household straight out of a Charles Dickens novel when he visited the Dickens family at their country home in the summer of 1857. Instead, he found a marriage in shambles, a band of miserable and neglected children and a host who was desperately hoping Anderson would leave — the sooner, the better.But Anderson didn’t leave. He lingered, for five awkward and painful weeks, while the Dickens family disintegrated around him. Francine Prose takes this historic moment and fictionalizes it in her new novel, “Five Weeks in the Country.” Told from multiple perspectives, the book details the very public dissolution of the Dickens family and the very modern question of what to do when good art is produced by a terrible person. On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Prose and host Kerri Miller tackle it all — including why Prose likes reality TV, how she grapples with being a fan of Dickens work without liking Dickens the person, and what it means to write risky, even after you’ve written 23 novels.Guest:Francine Prose author of many books, including “Household Saints” and “Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932.” Her new novel is “Five Weeks in the Country.” Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related