Interview with Paul Collins

Paul Collins was gracious enough to answer a few questions and you can find my interview with him below. Seriously folks, check out The Book of William as well as his other books.

1. Is there a particular piece of writing that influenced you to write the kind of books that you do?


When I wrote my first book, Banvard's Folly, I was influenced by 1920s and 1930s writers like Van Wyck Brooks and Edmund Pearson, who delighted in obscure literature while always remaining inviting to the reader. I was also very fond of Nicholson Baker and John McPhee's ways of drawing extraordinary stories of out overlooked subjects. In my next book (Sixpence House), I had to develop a first person narrator, and probably my closest model there was Jerome K. Jerome, who always struck me as a good company. Ever since then I've basically been winging it, and inventing a narrative style as I go along.


2. Are there any Folio facts/stories etc. that have come to light since you wrote the book that you would like to share?

Probably the biggest was the recovery of the stolen Durham folio, and the conviction of Raymond Scott for its theft. It was perhaps the first time that the unique nature of each copy -- that no two copies are exactly alike in their textual variants and physical condition -- suddenly had a criminal conviction turning on it.


3. What is the most interesting thing that you learned while researching The Book of William?

That would have to be hearing Anthony West describe his plan to come up with a database tracking textual variants, condition, watermarks, etc in every page of every copy of the Folio -- literally millions of pieces of information. It's astonishingly ambitious, a project that will take decades to complete -- Anthony's in his seventies! -- and something that's never been done for any other book.


4. If you are able to share, what are you working on right now?

I'm writing "Duel With The Devil: How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up To Take On a Murder Mystery," which Crown will have out in the summer of 2013. Unlikely as it sounds, it's another history -- this really happened! It's about the Levi Weeks trial of 1800, and I've been immersed in reading Manhattan newspapers from back then -- which, for someone like me, is basically catnip.


Thats all for this update and thanks again to Paul Collins. Check back Friday for a review of 52 Ways to Cheat at Poker by Allan Kronzek. Please let me know if you have any comments, either below or at jeffsemonis at yahoo.com.