Katharine’s Wish

Author(s): Linda Lappin

Location(s): Fontainebleau, Italy, London, Switzerland, The South of France (Le Midi)

Genre(s): Fiction, Historical

Era(s): 1920s

In her new novel, Linda Lappin (author of THE ETRUSCAN) explores the final years in the life of short story writer and literary figure, Katherine Mansfield, focusing on her relationships with Ida Baker and John Middleton Murry against the backdrop of her ceaseless journeys and changes of residence — the South of France, London, Italy, Switzerland, and finally, Fontainebleau. The narrative incorporates modernist techniques used by Mansfield, Virginia Wolff, and D.H. Lawrence in their fiction. Though the book deals with tragic issues, it celebrates Mansfield’s deep love of life, which never abandoned her, and its final message is a life-affirming one of joy and of wholeness achieved. “KATHERINE’S WISH is a beautifully observed novel [that] reveals a core truth: that Mansfield’s was not so much a creative life cut short as one that flourished so long against all odds.” — Alexandra Johnson, author of THE HIDDEN WRITER “KATHERINE’S WISH, fifteen years in the making, is a dazzling bit of fictional sorcery, conjuring to life the bright and talented swirl of modern society in the 1920s…

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