Stephanie Dray
Author Interview - Stephanie Dray
Author of The Women of Chateau Lafayette and Becoming Madam Secretary
About Becoming Madam Secretary:
New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel about an American heroine Frances Perkins.
Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.
When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.
But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.
Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.
About The Women of Chateau Lafayette:
“Nestled in the mountains, Chateau Lafayette has seen revolution, survived two world wars, and harbored more than twenty-five thousand sick and orphaned children. It’s a fortress, a haven, the strength of which is not its stone, but in the courage and ideals of those who lived there. In the 18th century, Adrienne Lafayette, as defiant as her hero husband Marquis de Lafayette, faces down the guillotine, inspiring generations to come. At the start of World War I, Beatrice Chanler, an indomitable socialite with a secret, risks everything to change America’s destiny and save people a world away in Lafayette's name. In World War II, Marthe Simone, a French schoolteacher, simply wants to survive Nazi occupation, until a shocking discovery calls into question who she is, and who she’s willing to become. Most castles are protected by men. This one by women...”
Author Interview - Stephanie Dray
Author I draw inspiration from:
Beatrice Chanler
Favorite place to read a book:
In Bed
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Prince Phillip from Kate Quinn's THE ROSE CODE
Author Interview - Stephanie Dray | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
When I realized that I didn't want to be a lawyer.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Audiobook. Crazy about audio books.
The last book I read:
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
Author Interview - Stephanie Dray | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Computer
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Ove from A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Author Interview - Stephanie Dray | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
unemployed without other marketable skills
Favorite decade in fashion history:
18th century. I like to look at those pannier hoops, not wear them, though.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I'd love to go back to France
My signature drink:
A Shirley Temple. I am a lightweight.
Favorite artist:
Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Number one on my bucket list:
The pandemic has made me wish for small but deeply important things like getting all my family vaccinated and seeing them again.
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/stephaniedrayauthor
https://www.instagram.com/stephanie.dray/
Author Interview - Stephanie Dray
About Stephanie Dray:
STEPHANIE DRAY is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into eight languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. Now she lives in Maryland with her husband, cats, and history books.
