In the midst of research for The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door exhibition, my former colleague Molly Schwartzburg alerted me to an unpublished manuscript she had located in the collection of writer and editor Christopher Morley (known today for his novel Parnassus on Wheels and his work on the editorial board of the Book-of-the-Month Club). [Read more…] about A newly identified work by writer and poet Fenton Johnson
novel
Fellows Find: Manuscripts reveal internal battles of Civil War novelists writing outside the “moonlight and magnolias” school
Dr. Niall Munro, Senior Lecturer in American Literature at Oxford Brookes University, was a fellow at the Ransom Center during the summer of 2015. His research was supported by the Fred W. Todd Southern Literature Endowment Fund. Munro is at work on a book entitled “Our only ‘felt’ history”: American modernism and the Civil War. While at the Ransom Center, Munro accessed the collections of Evelyn Scott and Stark Young. [Read more…] about Fellows Find: Manuscripts reveal internal battles of Civil War novelists writing outside the “moonlight and magnolias” school
Doctors Wenn and Camia, I Presume? Inside Ian McEwan’s papers
One of the delights of processing the papers of an author I enjoy reading is seeing evidence of the work taking shape, unfolding, and ultimately becoming the final story that is published. Revised drafts with lines crossed out and new passages added, early jottings of ideas and character names, original “working titles”…it’s as if I am being let in on a secret. [Read more…] about Doctors Wenn and Camia, I Presume? Inside Ian McEwan’s papers
Alan Furst’s “Midnight in Europe” now available
Alan Furst, a New York Times bestselling author whose archive resides at the Harry Ransom Center, recently published his latest novel Midnight in Europe.
Furst is widely recognized for his historical espionage novels set in the World War II era. His 2008 novel, The Spies of Warsaw, was adapted into a miniseries starring David Tenant and Janet Montgomery that premiered on the BBC in 2013. His works have been translated into 18 languages, and in 2011 he received the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award.
Midnight in Europe is set in the outskirts of wartime Paris in 1938. Cristián Ferrar, a Spanish émigré and lawyer at an international law firm risks his life in a mission to help supply weapons to the Republic’s army. He is joined in his efforts by a motley crew of idealists, gangsters, arms traders, aristocrats, and spies, all compelled by different reasons to fight for righteous principles and democracy.
To celebrate the release of Midnight in Europe, the Ransom Center will be giving away a signed copy of Furst’s 2008 novel Spies of the Balkans. To be eligible to win, tweet a link to this blog post and mention @ransomcenter. If you’re not on Twitter, send an email to hrcgiveaway@gmail.com with “Alan Furst” in the subject line. By entering via email, you are also opting-in to receive the Ransom Center’s monthly email newsletter. All tweets and emails must be sent by Thursday, June 26, at midnight CST, and winner will be drawn and notified on Friday.
Related content:
Listen to Alan Furst reading from The Spies of Warsaw
Watch video interviews with Alan Furst
View a list of recommended reading by Alan Furst
Writers Reflect with Alan Furst
Read “The Alan Furst Papers: Interrogation of a Spy Novelist”
Image: Cover of Alan Furst’s novel Midnight in Europe.