Rachel Cantor on the Creative Maelstrom of the Brontës

Welcome to I’m a Writer But, where writers discuss their work, their lives, their other work, the stuff that takes up any free time they have, all the stuff they’re not able to get to, and the ways in which any of us get anything done. Plus: book recommendations, bad jokes, okay jokes, despair, joy, and anything else going on that week. Hosted by Lindsay Hunter.    

This week, Rachel Cantor discusses her new novel, Half-Life of a Stolen Sister: A Novel of the Brontës, writing a modern take on historical characters, finding her way to the novel’s innovative form, finding a balance in voice and tone, finding a publisher for this book without an agent, and more!

From the episode:

Rachel Cantor: Their world was such a world of the imagination, and it’s so incredibly important–not just for their books that would come–but for their relationship, because it bound them together. The four surviving Brontë children shared a creative life. They told stories together, they created entire imaginary realms together, they wrote stories which they read to each other or they collaborated on, they illustrated–it was an entire universe that they inhabited, and I found that thrilling to be a part of. I wanted to be in that room where all that creative maelstrom was happening.

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Rachel Cantor is the author of the novels A Highly Unlikely Scenario and Good on Paper. Her short stories have appeared in The Paris Review, One Story, Ninth Letter, and The Kenyon Review, among other publications. She was raised in Rome and Connecticut, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.