Sandy Springs author Pamela Norsworthy’s first historical fiction novel, “War Bonds,” earned her a Georgia Author of the Year Award nomination for its saga of a British nurse and her complicated relationship with an American pilot.
Her latest book, “The Florentine Entanglement,” weaves the gripping story of a teetering marriage into the infamous failure of the U2 spy plane mission over Russia that redefined the stakes of the Cold War.
We asked Norsworthy about her inspiration for the novels and writing process. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What inspired “The Florentine Entanglement,” and can you talk about your process of writing it?
I write (and love) historical fiction. One person who doesn’t usually read this genre told me, somewhat surprised, “It’s history! But there’s a story in it!” And that’s the goal: to write absorbing, compelling stories embedded in real historical fact. My debut novel was about families and Allied soldiers in World War Two England. The end of that conflict brings us into the 1950s and instead of peace and stability, there’s a pervasive nuclear threat and the Cold War. The Florentine Entanglement is set in that era and into 1960, when the Soviets shoot down our U2 surveillance plane and capture the American pilot. There’s still much we don’t know about the U2 episode so it provided just the right ambiguous hinge on which to hang a story about CIA officer Talbot—who’s responsible for the U2 mission—and the troubled marriage he’s trying to manage.
I’ve read that some readers say, “watch the women.” What roles do the women in this novel play that readers might not expect? What do you hope readers notice about the ways women navigate danger, loyalty, and agency in this story?
Yes. Watch the women. The lives of the women in this novel are constrained by the expectations and sexism of the era. One wants to be a CIA operative and is “promoted” to lead the secretarial pool. Without giving too much away, just know her frustration and resentment drive much of what follows. Talbot’s wife, Eleanor, knows he’s philanderer, but struggles to summon the strength to confront his betrayal. I hope readers root for her to find the life she’s always wanted.
What do you hope readers take with them about the intersection of art, politics, and personal agency?
Throughout the book, we see artists interpreting the political moment. Post-war, the French write poetry, music, and plays to process the pain of the Occupation; D.C. is awash with fundraisers to create new arts organizations. New Smithsonian museums have opened and more are planned. But because women are excluded from roles as organizational leaders, Eleanor can’t get a job in an art museum, despite her training in Florence. She’s surrounded by messages that tell her “the men are in charge,” making it that much harder for her to recognize and follow her inner mandate—what she knows she must do with her life.
Your previous book, “War Bonds,” was about your father’s experience as a POW in Poland. What was the moment you realized his story or stories needed to become a novel?
I didn’t tell my father’s story, exactly, but I mined anecdotes about his experience to write War Bonds. I grew up knowing my father had been a prisoner of war and only later does the realization hit that he nearly didn’t survive—that I’m almost not here. He flew bombing runs into the Reich and many of his buddies didn’t return from those runs. He climbed into the cockpit over and over until he was shot down after D-Day. I’ve been invited to so many book clubs to discuss War Bonds and practically everyone has a story of a father, grandfather, uncle—a family hero who helped win the war.
How do you see Eleanor’s story speaking to modern conversations about women’s autonomy and the emotional labor of relationships?
Seeing yourself through the prism another person has devised for you may work for a while. Maybe there’s enough of a benefit—safety and security, perhaps—so it seems to make sense to allow someone else to define you—to cede that power. But failing to follow your own compass, ignoring what you know to be true, will do you in, ultimately. The question is how to grow strong enough to withstand the conflict that arises when you say, out loud, “No. I’m not putting up with that anymore.”
Find out more about the author at pamelanorsworthywrites.com.
