Thomas Mallon's 'Bandbox' | WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source

Historical novelist Thomas Mallon, author of bestsellers _Dewey Defeats Truman_ and _Clara and Henry_, has come home to roost. The former literary editor of men's magazine _GQ_, Mallon

has crafted a novel set in the 1920s about the ruthless competition between a fictional New York City magazine and its cutthroat rival. _Bandbox_ is populated by molls and mobsters, with

several real-life characters thrown into the mix. Mallon deftly captures life in the 'Roaring Twenties' through meticulously accurate dialogue, descriptions and plot developments.

NPR's Scott Simon spoke to Mallon and discovered his primary rule when writing historical fiction: read less _about_ the period and more _from_ the period. Mallon feels this is the only

way to truly represent the time he has chosen to write about. The author reveals that this process was more important for _Bandbox_ than for his earlier works, which all revolved around a

specific historic event that could be easily researched. Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.