Stephanie Dray has found her sweet spot telling the stories of America’s “forgotten women”. Her latest blockbuster, The Women of Chateau Lafayette, is no exception. It’s a rollicking historical saga reaching across three centuries – from the French Revolution to the Second World War.
Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and in Binge Reading today Stephanie Dray talks about one of the most anticipated historical novels of 2021, and the French American alliance that has saved the world three times. (Winston Churchill might be turning over in his grave hearing me make that statement.)
We’ve got three eBook copies of Stephanie’s book, The Women of Chateau Lafayette, to give away to three lucky readers in our Royal House giveaway. Enter the draw on The Joys of Binge Reading website or look for it on our Facebook page.
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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:
How Stephanie got started on a Cleopatra trilogyWriting 'one of the most anticipated' books of 2021Why Lafayette is important to the worldWhat part his wife Adrienne played in his victoriesWhat Stephanie is working on nextWhy Lafayette deserves to be celebrated in the US
Where to find Stephanie Dray:
Website: https://www.stephaniedray.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanie.dray/
Facebook: @stephaniedrayauthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.nz/stephaniedray/_created/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4072332.Stephanie_Dray
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stephanie-drayWhat follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.
But now, here’s Stephanie.
Introducing author Stephanie Dray
Jenny Wheeler:. Hello there, Stephanie, and welcome to the show. It's good to have you with us.
Stephanie Dray: Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Author Stephanie Dray
Jenny Wheeler: You are a USA Today bestselling author specializing in historic fiction. You do some great books co-authoring but this latest one, The Women of Chateau Lafayette, is entirely your own work.
It has a lot of true history in it and is about an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and three generations of women, spread from the years of the French Revolution to the Second World War. It's a wonderful historic saga. What got you started on it?
Stephanie Dray: Thank you for saying it's a wonderful saga, because it felt like it even while writing it. I started it because I had been writing about American founding mothers for a couple of novels.
I've written America's First Daughter with my very dear friend and co-author, Laura Kamoie. We also wrote My Dear Hamilton, which is about Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton, America's first Secretary of the Treasury, who is now also a Broadway star. I'm not sure if Hamilton has reached Australia, but it's still going strong here.
Jenny Wheeler: It is one of my ambitions in life to see Hamilton. I did interview Laura about the book 18 months or so ago, and I was resolved that somehow or other, I was going to go and see Hamilton.
The genesis for the Lafayette saga
America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
I didn't know much about Alexander Hamilton before I read that book. I loved that book too, and then I discovered it was coming to Sydney. I thought fantastic. I put my name down for all the advanced notice of pre-sales for Sydney, and then what happened? Early last year, COVID struck.
