Julie Gerstenblatt on Her Debut Novel, "Daughters of Nantucket"

Julie Gerstenblatt's Daughters of Nantucket is a captivating story of the biographies of 3 distinct women at Nantucket mid-nineteen century.

Meeting Julie Gerstenblatt was an extremely pleasant experience: her warm countenance is as reassuring as is powerful - it came as no surprise from a writer who took enormous risks with her debut novel. Julie's resolution to write historical fiction for the first time, to create the voice of a woman of color as a white writer, and bring to life a real astronomer and imagining the love she never spoke of, were met with her exceptional craft. Julie weaves a breathtaking, intimate story of three women facing the raw elements of island life: scarcity and comfort existing side by side, independence and prejudice in brutal proximity, and the Great Fire that threatened to consume it all.

Her full interview will be part of our Writers in our Backyard: From their Kitchen Tables to our Nightstands article this spring.