Paula Xiberras
The wonderful Paullina Simons is returning to Tasmania, a fact she is very happy about after a memorable visit here on her last tour of Australia. Last time she was here Paullina ventured to Mt Wellington and this time she aims to visit Salamanca market and of course MONA. I mentioned that almost all visitors I interview mention a visit to Mona and the great work the gallery is doing for our international cultural reputation. Paullina says how does a visit to the casino fit into that cultural reputation? As she is going there too!. When I speak to Paullina Simmons I am, not necessarily fashionably, late. Paullina is in South Australia and I am in Tassie. She asks if I had called her on my time and explains how in the east side of New York where she lives everyone is very familiar with the time differences and know they are earlier than the West Coast.
And it is ‘earlier ‘ that we are talking about today, discussing Paullinas new book that fills in the early years of characters later seen in ‘ The Bronze Horseman’ trilogy. This novel however, is set in Italy rather than Russia. I ask Paullina if she visits Italy and she tells me she spent some formative years there while waiting to go to the U.S.
Paullina muses with me that it would be great if reviewers and reporters could be instructed by the author about what sections of the novel are the essential bits to read a sort of ‘Coles’ notes, however Paullina also says she wants people to read her books in their entirety
This novel is called ‘Children of Liberty’ and there is some irony in that title as many of the young characters we meet don’t have the liberty we enjoy, they live in a difficult time, the dawn of a new century but one that is still holding fast to cultural mores, people do not mix let alone marry out of their class and there is a wide chasm between those that have and those that have not.
Into this mix comes one of the protagonist of our story a young woman so overflowing with spirit she is on occasion compared to the volcano from her homeland of Sicily. She falls for a young man from a totally different class than herself.
This novel gives us some delicious and rarely known pieces of history interwoven in our protagonists story. The invention of the Margherita pizza is explained and we are also introduced to Rose Hawthorne daughter of the novelist Nathanial Hawthorne. We learn of Rose’s conversion to Catholicism and her work as a nun working with the sick. It is wonderful to see some light shed on this little known historical figure. Paullina says she could only find one reference book on Rose for her research. Hopefully her appearance in this book and in a subsequent sequel will see more studies of this wonderful woman.
Paullina calls her character Gina, her anchor and she and the other characters like Rose will be further explored in the sequel. After revisiting these much loved characters Paullina is hoping to write something set in this part of the world.
‘Children of Liberty’ is out now and you can meet Paullina Simons at an event hosted by Dymocks Hobart on Sunday 18 November, 2012 at Royal Yacht Club Tasmania.
