For Francine Prose, History Is Never Really History

NARROWSBURG, N.Y. — For novelist Francine Prose, history isn’t just about the past. It’s a way of understanding what remains constant about human nature.

Prose, the bestselling author of more than 20 works of fiction and nonfiction, will appear at this year’s Deep Water Literary Festival in Narrowsburg as part of a conversation titled Stories Against Time. The theme aligns closely with her latest novel, Five Weeks in the Country, which reimagines a real-life encounter between literary icons Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Dickens.

The novel grew from a single historical fact: Andersen visited Dickens’ home in 1857 for what was supposed to be a brief stay that stretched into five uncomfortable weeks.

“The idea of two geniuses who showed up in the same house and had a horrible time for five weeks in the country — that’s story,” Prose said.

While the visit actually happened, the novel imagines the experience through the perspectives of Dickens, Andersen and Dickens’ children.

“Given a certain historical framework, how can you imagine your way into it as if it were actually happening?” she said.

That blend of history and imagination has long defined Prose’s work. Researching the 19th century, she said she was struck not only by how much has changed, but by how much has remained familiar.

“I was always running up against certain things that were the same,” she said. “That’s sort of why you read fiction.”

Beyond her literary work, Prose has been a prominent advocate for writers and free expression, serving as president of PEN America. Asked about today’s climate for writers and journalists, her assessment was blunt.

“It’s a nightmare,” she said, citing increasing hostility toward journalists and what she sees as growing threats to press freedom.

Still, she continues to encourage aspiring writers — with a dose of realism.

“I always say, if you can do anything else, do that other thing,” she said. “But if you can’t stand not to do it, then you have to do it.”

Prose is currently editing a nonfiction book about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, inspired by a lifelong fascination with the play.

The project combines close reading with the folklore and superstitions that have surrounded productions of the Scottish play for centuries.

“It’s sort of serious close reading of the play,” she said, “but then mixed in with all the crazy historical fun facts that go along with the various productions.”

Image: Francine Prose will appear at the Deep Water Literary Festival on June 20 in Narrowsburg for the discussion “Stories Against Time.” (HarperCollins/Frances F. Denny)