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Rachel Urquhart

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July 2013

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Rachel Urquhart is a former writer and editor at Spy, Vogue, and Allure magazines. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times, Tin House, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, and Vanity Fair. She received her MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons. ...more

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What are you currently working on?

Rachel Urquhart I'm working on a contemporary novel that takes place in a wilderness camp in Maine, right around the time of an epic storm.…moreI'm working on a contemporary novel that takes place in a wilderness camp in Maine, right around the time of an epic storm.(less)

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Since reading The Visionist, which I enjoyed a great deal, I have become very interested in the Shakers, whom I knew little about beforehand. Inmy research, I find them very fascinating and have my doubts that they were heavily involved in some of the shady things that are in the novel. I know you wrote a novel, and not a nonfiction book about this sect, but have you heard from people about this? Thanks! Rebecca

Rachel Urquhart hi rebecca--first of all, thank you for reading my book. your question is a good one because, although i'm not sure i would characterize the shakers' …morehi rebecca--first of all, thank you for reading my book. your question is a good one because, although i'm not sure i would characterize the shakers' behavior in my novel as "shady," it is certainly darker than most people would think realistic. that said, the book has been universally embraced by the community of hardcore shaker scholars in this country--something i'm very proud of. the shakers were human--which is easy to forget when we read about all the truly amazing things they did. they were also survivalists. they had to be, especially given their views on procreation etc.. so, for example, they had to be very commercially savvy and also quite sharp about buying up real estate or taking over the land and possessions of those who joined them. it wasn't greed that motivated them, but self-preservation. as for the way they looked at children, they saw them as investments in the future and, as such, needed to be sure that they could hold onto any child they took in at least until the child turned 18 so that the shakers got at least some return on all the money and time they put into clothing, education and teaching young shakers trades such as blacksmithing, carpentry, cooking etc.. finally, as far as the more outrageous-seeming worship rituals in the book go, they are all inspired very closely by what i read in the many books i studied while researching 'the visionst.' revivals in any religion are different from calmer periods of worship, and the one i wrote about--the era of manifestations--was a genuinely earthshaking decade for the shakers. thanks again for taking an interest. best, rachel(less)

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Rachel Urquhart’s books

Average rating: 3.47 · 2,244 ratings · 388 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Visionist 3.47 avg rating — 2,150 ratings — published 2013 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Women's Wardrobe by Kim Johnson Gross, Jeff Stone (Goodreads Author), Rachel Urquhart (Goodreads Author) 3.71 avg rating — 68 ratings — published 1995 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Witching Hour: A Journal for Cultivating Positivity, Confidence, and Other Magic by Sarah Bartlett (Goodreads Author), Rachel Urquhart (Goodreads Author) (Illustrations) 3.39 avg rating — 28 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Il Libro della Strega. Un diario per coltivare la positività, la fiducia e altre magie by Sarah Bartlett (Goodreads Author), Rachel Urquhart (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator) 3.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nursery (Chic Simple) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1994 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Rachel Urquhart's Blog

This Old House

The house in my grandfather's day

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the Shaker meeting house my grandfather bought in the 1930s. I know--I've mentioned it at length in an earlier post. But I've been thinking about what really happened in there before it became a home. After all, it's not like people sat around gossiping, bouncing babies on their knees, or churning bu

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Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity

by Andrew Solomon

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Nov 20, 2013 01:27PM

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The Goldfinch

by Donna Tartt

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Nov 14, 2013 03:04PM

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Old Filth (Old Filth, #1)

by Jane Gardam

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Oct 03, 2013 05:04AM

Quotes by Rachel Urquhart (?)

“Indeed, I am dizzy with happiness to be standing near to one who accepts me so completely.”
― Rachel Urquhart, The Visionist

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“The cruelty and brutishness of men is, on occasion, more than I can bear to witness.”
― Rachel Urquhart, The Visionist

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“knowingly in such a manner, Elder Sister.” “You were a help then, to your flesh kin? A daughter they”
― Rachel Urquhart, The Visionist: A Novel

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