Maria
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I recently finished reading a biography of T.E. Lawrence and am now reading his book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. I was struck by some parallels between his life and Miles Vorkosigan's. Was Lawrence an inspiration for you, or am I imagining things?
Lois McMaster Bujold
Yes, he was. One of them, at any rate -- very seldom does inspiration have only one source. (The young Winston Churchill also has a foot in there, somewhere.)
The movie came out when I was a teen; I followed up with a lot of reading about the man himself including that memoir, which was a deal more complex and a bit beyond what my shallow teen brain could process, but I suppose the stretch was good for it. My understanding grew better as I grew older and learned more, both about the period of history and people generally. It has been some decades since I revisited Seven Pillars; it would be interesting to reread it again now and see how much it has changed, including in light of a half-century more of history unfolding. :-)
Also interesting, if you can find a copy, is Lawrence's The Mint. A tinge of that went into Camp Permafrost, in an oblique sort of way.
Ta, L.
Yes, he was. One of them, at any rate -- very seldom does inspiration have only one source. (The young Winston Churchill also has a foot in there, somewhere.)
The movie came out when I was a teen; I followed up with a lot of reading about the man himself including that memoir, which was a deal more complex and a bit beyond what my shallow teen brain could process, but I suppose the stretch was good for it. My understanding grew better as I grew older and learned more, both about the period of history and people generally. It has been some decades since I revisited Seven Pillars; it would be interesting to reread it again now and see how much it has changed, including in light of a half-century more of history unfolding. :-)
Also interesting, if you can find a copy, is Lawrence's The Mint. A tinge of that went into Camp Permafrost, in an oblique sort of way.
Ta, L.
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Stgermain
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Lois McMaster Bujold:
As you've gotten older, wiser, and perhaps a more capable writer, do you look back on things you wrote early in your career and wish you could change them? I once saw an interview with Spielberg about Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He talks about how he could never have had Richard Dreyfus' character go off on the space and leave his children behind, if he'd made the movie after he became a father. Thanks.
Kevin Reitz
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I’ve been thinking that the Sharing Knife books are your strongest and have the most profound emotional punch. My theory is that the settings come directly from your home culture and resonate especially well with readers from the same historical atmosphere. There’s endless presumed knowledge you can draw on and—no small thing—a rich vernacular to exploit. I wonder if it feels that way from the author’s perspective?
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