Last year I wrote an article for a local paper about a lecture given by Larson at Monmouth University. I’m sharing this with you in case your book club is looking for a good book.
“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree. ” ― Michael Crichton
Well, Erik Larson knows history. He is a mastermind at finding those historical exploits that people don’t know or have forgotten, then researches the hell out of them and turns them into New York Times bestselling novels. That sounds a lot easier than it is.
On Monday night, March 28, Larson spoke to a packed house at the Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University. The event was part of the Department of History and Anthropology’s Charles Mayes lecture series on World War I.
Larson’s latest book “Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania,” deals with the torpedoing of the ship by the Germans two years before the United States entered World War I.
Just as he did in his previous books, Larson’s characters are presented in a narrative arch in a natural way. “…by finding the right bits and pieces to the story we can experience the event through their eyes when they don’t know the ending.” Larson told the assembly.
The lawsuits that were brought after the sinking created a lot of archival material. Larson found that most writers had written about the diplomatic pressures of entering World War I after the sinking of the ship, but not about the people involved or the ship’s fateful voyage.
The archived depositions provided a wealth of information on the passengers. Theodate Pope the first woman to become a licensed architect in New York and Connecticut was a first-class passenger. She had hoped that travelling would help her lifelong depression. Larson said Pope was diagnosed with “over-consciousness.”
Charles Lauriat, Jr., a prominent bookseller from Boston, was travelling with a priceless set of drawings by William Makepeace Thackeray and “A Christmas Carol,” a one-of-a-kind edition adorned with handwritten notes by Dickens. Lauriat survived and gave an in-depth first-hand account of the voyage.
Larson creates tension through the characters as you experience each incident with them. Lauriat continually mentioned during the voyage that the ship wasn’t travelling at top speed. He knew no German ship could match the Lusitania’s speed and couldn’t understand why the ship was travelling slower than it should.
You can hear a John Williams’ score in the background as the Lusitania travels closer and closer to England. Bump-bump-bump-bump-bump.
Larson answered questions from the audience. When asked what his next book was about he answered, “Killing Bill O’Reilly.”
After the laughter died down he admitted that he had no idea about his next book. He did inform the audience that “Devil in the White City,” had been optioned for a movie by Leonardo DiCaprio. Larson heard that Martin Scorsese might direct and Billy Ray (screenwriter for The Hunger Games) may be writing the screenplay.
When asked what his favorite time period in history was he said the Gilded Age. “The US had a boundless hubristic optimism then. We reached far,” Larson said. That’s a great backdrop for compelling stories.
If you haven’t read his books. Go to the book store and buy one. Whether you like history or not, you really will enjoy his novels. I have read them all and suggest starting with “Devil in the White City.” You’ll never look at Chicago the same again.
Visit his website at eriklarsonbooks.com to learn more about his body of work.