Sarah Blake biography

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Sarah Blake
Photo: Liz Norton

Sarah Blake

Sarah Blake Biography

Sarah Blake is an American writer. Her debut novel Grange House, set in Victorian era Maine, was published in 2001. Her second, The Postmistress, a story set in Second World War Massachusetts and London, was published in 2010.

Blake taught school and college-level English in Colorado and New York for several years and has taught fiction workshops at institutions including the University of Maryland and George Washington University.

Sarah Blake lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, the poet Josh Weiner, and their two sons.



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Interview

Sarah Blake talks about the inspiration for The Postmistress (2010), set in Europe and Cape Cod in 1940; and The Guest House (2019) which, among many other topics, explores explores race, religion and social class.



Sarah Blake talks about The Guest Book and the importance of learning to have difficult conversations

Sarah Blake is the author of two previous novels, Grange House and the international bestseller The Postmistress; a chapbook of poems, Full Turn; and Runaway Girls, an artist book in collaboration with Robin Kahn. Her new novel, The Guest Book, will be published by Flatiron Books on May 7, 2019. Blake  lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, the poet Joshua Weiner, and their two sons.


Let's start with the setting. I was curious about whether Crockett's Island was an actual place. When I searched Google, I discovered a Crockett's Cove in Maine. Is the island based on somewhere you know or have visited?

Yes! It is definitely inspired by an island I grew up going to, one that my grandparents bought in 1936. The way in which Kitty and Ogden come upon Crockett's is similar to my family's story, and the real Crockett's Cove is a place I know very, very well. That said, I feel the need to mention that what happens to the Miltons in The Guest Book is a completely fictional departure from my family's story. However, I certainly feel like our island was the genesis for me as a fiction writer.


How is...

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Books by this Author

Books by Sarah Blake at BookBrowse
The Guest Book jacket The Postmistress jacket
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