The thing that most attracts me to historical fiction is taking the factual record as far as it is known, using that as scaffolding, and then letting imagination build the structure that fills in those things we can never find out for sure. – Geraldine Brooks
September 11, 2001, revealed heroism in ordinary people who might have gone through their lives never called upon to demonstrate the extent of their courage. – Geraldine Brooks
You cant write about the past and ignore religion. It was such a fundamental, mind-shaping, driving force for pre-modern societies. Im very interested in what religion does to us – its capacity to create love and empathy or hatred and violence. – Geraldine Brooks
My mothers family were full-on Irish Catholics – faith in an elaborate old fashioned, highly conservative and madly baroque style. I sort of fell out of the tribe over womens rights and social justice issues when I was just 13 years old. – Geraldine Brooks