Helen simonson author biography books

Interview

Two interviews with Helen Simonson about her first and second novels: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Summer Before the War.

Two interviews with Helen Simonson about her first and second novels: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Summer Before the War.

In a conversation with Random House Reader's Circle, author Helen Simonson explains why the whole world can be explained in a small town, and how she uses humor to illuminate and process the absurdities of war.

Random House Reader's Circle: In your highly anticipated second novel The Summer Before the War you transport readers to the small Sussex town of Rye.

It's the summer of 1914, right before the start of World War I, when everything is on the brink of change. What was life like at this time and why did you want to set your story at this moment?

Helen Simonson: I think of Edwardian times in terms of advances in technology—-the