Time Machine with Author Emma Barry

by Jeannie Ruesch

Today marks the debut post of a new series here on the blog.  As a historical romantic suspense author, I love all eras of history. You name an era, I can probably find some sort of trouble to go digging into.  So I thought it would be fun to check in with other authors and see what their favorite eras are and what they would do with just 24 hours to spend there.  Stay tuned every Monday to see where we’re headed to next…

Today’s Time Machine Victim Guest: Emma Barry

You have 24 hours… what would you do with your short time?

I would go to Washington, DC, during the summer of 1864. I’ve been fascinated by the Civil War every since I watched the Ken Burns documentary when I was a kid. My interest was fueled by memoirs set in the federal capital during the war years, like Walt Whitman’s Specimen Days in America, Elizabeth Keckley’s Behind the Scenes, and Louisa May Alcott’s Hospital Sketches. I’d like to walk past the US Capitol Building (the dome would still be under construction!) and the the troops quartered on the mall. Then I’d try to sneak into the White House to get a glimpse of Lincoln.

LincolnPortrait02You can personally see, visit, talk with (or whatever….) one historical figure in that time period. Who would it be and what would you do?

For a bunch of reasons, I find Lincoln more accessible than most of our former presidents. Maybe it’s the honest way he talks about his trials and failings, maybe it’s his own very great personal losses during the war years, or the way he always defended Mary Todd Lincoln. Maybe it’s the self-depreciating humor.

No, while all of those things contribute to my feeling closer to him, it’s Lincoln as a writer that moves me. He left behind drafts of the Gettysburg address for crying out loud! And the First and Second Inaugurals are the supreme rhetorical achievements: the cadence, the Anglo-Saxon diction, and the the perfect balance of sentiment and reason. To me, he is perfect.

I don’t know that I could find anything to say to Lincoln. I’d just like to watch him work, listen to him. (I liked Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance in Lincoln, but I want to see the real thing.) I do want to know what sorts of newspapers and magazines Lincoln read. (Historians, you haven’t really answered this question. You’re very good about philosophy and history, but what popular materials was he reading?) Maybe I could ask a porter or something.

You have your cell phone with you — someone sees it. How would you explain what it is?

If they only got a quick glance, I think I’d try hide it in my bodice and then I’d feign some kind of Scarlett O’Hara eye fluttering thing, which probably wouldn’t work at all.  Otherwise I think I’d pretend I just found it and that I don’t know what it is.

Really, if I got caught I would fold like a cheap lawn chair. My only saving grace would be that they would never believe me.

 

emmabarry

About Emma Barry

Emma Barry is a novelist and full-time mama and graduate student. Her first novel, Brave in Heart, a historical romance set during the American Civil War, is available now. The Easy Part, a contemporary series about political staffers, will be published by Carina Press. Special Interests will be released on April 7, 2014.

Formerly of Texas, Montana, Boston, and Washington, DC, she loves hugs from her toddler twins, her husband’s cooking, her cat’s whiskers, and Earl Grey tea.

Find Emma at:

Website: http://authoremmabarry.com

Twitter: @AuthorEmmaBarry

You may also like

1 comment

Emma February 3, 2014 - 1:28 pm

Thanks so much for having me!

Reply

Leave a Comment

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Please accept to keep reading. Accept

Type Your Keywords: