Event Description

“As train crashes went, technically the Montparnasse Derailment of October 22, 1895, was a minor one.” So writes Emma Donoghue about the catastrophe at the heart of her latest novel, The Paris Express. Technically minor, but in the hands of a brilliant novelist, a major event. Set on a single day in 19th-century France, The Paris Express fits whole worlds into the carriages of a train leaving Normandy—worlds surprisingly resonant with ours. Over the last 30 years, Donoghue—the bestselling author of Room, The Wonder, Learned by Heart, and many other novels, stories, plays, and screenplays—has created an eclectic and award-winning body of work. Join Emma Donoghue for a conversation about The Paris Express, historical fiction, striking details, and the art of the novel today.