Jeanne Mackin
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin
Author of The Last Collection and Picasso's Lover
About Picasso's Lover
A tangled and vivid portrait of the women caught in Picasso’s charismatic orbit through the affairs, the scandals, and the art—only this time, they hold the brush.
The women of Picasso’s life are glamorous and elusive, existing in the shadow of his fame—until 1950s aspiring journalist Alana Olson determines to bring one into the light. Unsure of what to expect but bent on uncovering what really lies beneath the canvas, Alana steps into Sara Murphy’s well-guarded home to discover a past complicated by secrets and intrigue.
Sara paints a luxurious picture of the French Riviera in 1923, but also a tragic one. The more Sara reveals, the more cracks emerge in Picasso’s once-vibrant social circle—and the more Alana feels a disturbing convergence with her own life. Who are these other muses? What became of them? What will become of her?
Desperate to trace the threads, Alana dives into the glittering lives of the past. But to do so she must contend with her own reality, including a strained engagement, the male-dominated world of art journalism, and the rising threat to civil rights in America. With hard truths peeling apart around her, it turns out that the most extraordinary portrait Alana encounters is her own.
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin
Author I draw inspiration from:
Daphne du Maurier is an author I read over and over, both to study her craft (masterful) and to enjoy the stories. She wasn’t afraid to add a little bit of darkness to a story to give it more depth and her characters are so fully realized. I also reread Romain Gary quite often, for the same reason. I most appreciate stories that have a strong trajectory of narrative and a few surprises as well.
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin | Author I draw inspiration from
Favorite place to read a book:
In my house I have a sofa, in a well-lit corner, with a brass tea table and lots of cushions. I can (and do) spend hours there. In the summer, I have a bench in my garden and I’ll read there, under a huge sunhat, enjoying the hum of the bees going back and forth to the thyme plants.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Another book I have read probably two dozen times, if not more, is Blessed Are The Debonair, Margaret Case Harriman’s memoir about growing up in the 1920’s, when her father was the manager of the famous Hotel Algonquin in New York. She met all the famous actors and writers of her time and because she was a child, she knew them in quirky, often funny ways the adults didn’t. Her memoir makes waiting for the elevator in this hotel (where the best gossip happens) as exotic as a safari. I’d love to be stuck in the elevator with her and get the gossip that didn’t make it into her memoir.
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin | Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I can’t remember when I didn’t want to write, but I do remember finishing one of Anya Seton’s novels when I was still in grammar school and thinking “I want to write stories, too. I want to write novels about women in distant times and places.” Historical fiction for me, is a form of travel and my hunger for it came strong and early.
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin | The moment I knew I wanted to become an author
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I still enjoy holding books in my hand, that smell of print and paper, that thrilling little brush of paper against paper when I turn the page.
The last book I read:
“Red Thread: On Mazes and Labyrinths” by Charlotte Higgins. Higgins is a wonderful thinker and writer, and this nonfiction book about mazes is itself a kind of maze, twisting and turning in on itself. She traces the story of the Minotaur and the labyrinth through books and buildings, giving plenty of interesting facts along the way. Did you know the word clue originally, in Greek, meant a ball of thread, like the one Theseus used to find his way out of the labyrinth?
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin | The last book I read
Pen & paper or computer:
Both. Because I’m left-handed and my handwriting is often illegible even to myself, I usually write directly at the keyboard. But when things get stuck in my head I go back to pen and paper to slow myself down a little, to take more time with each word. I had a writer friend who, when she was stuck, would limit herself to one word per page! Slowing down like that, she said, really clarified what she wanted to say.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
The first person narrator of Nancy Mitford’s “The Pursuit of Love” is a quiet, calm girl with a subtle sense of humor who observes everything going on around her, including the many quirks and foibles of her aunt, uncle and cousins. They all live in one of those ancient, ramshackle English country houses without central heating. The narrator is of this family, but still separate from it and is one of the least-judgemental characters I’ve ever read. She is full of heart and wit and is completely open.
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin | Book character I think I’d be best friends with
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a:
Perhaps a pastry chef? I love to bake, but I think the stress of a commercial kitchen in a bakery or restaurant would probably terrify me. If I hadn’t wanted to write full time, I’d probably still be teaching college writing classes. I loved teaching eighteen year olds the mysteries of essay writing!
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Definitely the twenties, with those straight, boyish lines and sequins and sparkles. I hate constrictive clothing and tight waists. Day costumes in the 20’s and 30’s were easy and practical and the evening gowns were luscious and vampish.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Avignon. I’ve been to Paris many times, and Nice and Grasse, and other beautiful places in Europe, but I’ve never been to Avignon. I am drawn to ancient cities with cobbled streets. They always feel like a homecoming to me.
My signature drink:
Half sweet, half dry vermouth over ice with a twist of lemon. Or a good Spanish cava or French Bordeaux. In the summer heat, I like orzo from Greece. Should I go on?
Favorite artist:
Matisse. He was completely an artist of his times, full of life and jazz and bright newness. The colors…oh, the colors!
Number one on my bucket list:
To waltz to The Blue Danube, in a sweeping silk ball gown, on a marble floor, in Vienna, on New Year’s Eve.
Anything else you'd like to add:
I don’t like chocolate! Can you imagine!
About The Last Collection:
Paris, 1938. Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are fighting for recognition as the most successful and influential fashion designer in France, and their rivalry is already legendary. They oppose each other at every turn, in both their politics and their designs: Chanel’s are classic, elegant, and practical; Schiaparelli’s bold, experimental, and surreal.
When Lily Sutter, a recently widowed young American teacher, visits her brother, Charlie, in Paris, he insists on buying her a couture dress—a Chanel. Lily, however, prefers a Schiaparelli. Charlie’s beautiful and socially prominent girlfriend soon begins wearing Schiaparelli’s designs as well, and much of Paris follows in her footsteps.
Schiaparelli offers budding artist Lily a job at her store, and Lily finds herself increasingly involved with Schiaparelli and Chanel’s personal war. Their fierce competition reaches new and dangerous heights as the Nazis and the looming threat of World War II bear down on Paris.
Author Interview - Jeanne Mackin
