Faith Sullivan

Faith Sullivan
Faith Sullivan is the author of many novels, including Gardenias, The Cape Ann, What a Woman Must Do, and, most recently, Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse. A “demon gardener, flea marketer, and feeder of birds,” she is also an indefatigable champion of literary culture and her fellow writers, and has visited with hundreds of book clubs. Born and raised in southern Minnesota, she spent twenty-some years in New York and Los Angeles, but now lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Dan.
Awards
Sign up for occasional updates about this author
Books by Faith Sullivan
Author Q & A
At one point in Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse, Nell thinks, “The years could rob [people] of friends and farms, of youth and health but books would endure.” What role do you see literature playing in your characters’ lives?
I make a conscious effort in most of my books to convey the notion that literature, more than religion, is the path to understanding ourselves and the world, if indeed either can be understood.
I truly believe that the more people read worthwhile books, the more empathic they become and consequently the more they value human life. [Read more at Deborah Kalb Books]
Many of your novels are linked through their characters and setting. Did you plan Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse as you were writing the earlier novels, or did the specific idea for this book come to you later?
The idea of linking Wodehouse, an idol of mine, and Nell Stillman came to me later though it was always my intention to write about Nell. When writing The Cape Ann, I created histories for many of the characters, including Nell. I like to do this with major characters, and even then I considered her a major character though her role was not huge. When Nell's time came, I said to myself, “Here’s a woman with a pocketful of troubles. In telling her story, why not give her a source of escape and relief?” Wodehouse has long been the author to whom I personally escape so I loaned him to her. [Read more at Deborah Kalb Books]