Review
The Shadow Catcher's twin
narratives follow the life of photographer Edward S
Curtis (1868-1952) and his wife Clara Philllips
(about whom little is known, giving the author's
creativity free rein); and "Marianne Wiggins",
living in present-day California, who has written a
book about Curtis that has drawn the interest of
film-makers.
In an interview on PBS radio (see
sidebar for link), Wiggins explains that she has
never written autobiography (although parts of
herself do come through in other books) but this
time she was drawn to explore the central mystery in
her own live - why her father, who she loved very
much, disappeared from her life when she was young.
The story that has been passed down to her is that,
some...
Beyond the Book
Marianne Wiggins was born
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in
1947. Her father, a farmer,
preached in a conservative
Christian church founded by her
grandfather. She married at 17
and shortly after gave birth to
a daughter, Lara, who she
brought up on Martha's Vineyard
(Lara is now a
professional photographer in
Los Angeles and took the jacket
and author photo for
The
Shadow Catcher). Wiggins's
first book was published in 1975
but it wasn't until 1984 with
the publication of
Separate
Checks that she was able to...
