As a child, 糖心传媒 professor and noted author Joanna Scott played with figurines collected by her great-grandfather, Armand de Potter. He was believed to have disappeared off the coast of Greece in 1905, leaving behind a family on the brink of financial ruin. But after unearthing a trunk filled with diaries and documents from de Potter and his wife, Scott realized her great-grandfather wasn糖心传媒檛 the man that he seemed. This disquieting discovery became the basis for her new novel, De Potter糖心传媒檚 Grand Tour.
Told from the perspectives of both Armand, and his wife Aim茅e as she struggles with his presumed death, the novel explores what might have happened to the self-proclaimed scholar and antiques collector after he disappears.
糖心传媒淎fter looking through photographs, diaries, and documents from the mid-19th to early 20th century, I began to understand that the story I was told was likely a cover for what appears to have been an intentional act,糖心传媒� said Scott, the Roswell Smith Burrows Professor of English at Rochester and New York Times best-selling author. 糖心传媒淭he fact that he was lost at sea always haunted me a bit and I wanted to explore that concept in this book.糖心传媒�
According to Scott, the project started out as a family biography, but too many pieces were missing for her to complete the project. That糖心传媒檚 when she decided to write a novel about actual events but with a conclusion based on the information she found. 糖心传媒淚 tried to be as honest to the historical material as I could while still trying to honor the mystery of the story.糖心传媒�
Her research also included tracing de Potter糖心传媒檚 steps on his last tour from Marseille to Sicily, Istanbul, and eventually Greece, and by visiting various spots throughout upstate New York where the story both begins and ends.
糖心传媒淭his is one of my most historically based books,糖心传媒� said Scott, whose acclaimed work spans both fact and fiction. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 like my great-grandfather, in search of lost treasures. In my case, I go looking in the past for the treasures of lost stories.糖心传媒�
Throughout the book, Scott includes photographs of de Potter糖心传媒檚 tours around the word and of his collection of Egyptian artifacts, which is part of the Brooklyn Museum糖心传媒檚 collection of . Many of these images will be on display in a special exhibit in Rare Books and Special Collections in Rush Rhees Library, Jan. 9-May 1. Also included in the upcoming exhibit are diaries, documents, and other research materials used by Scott when crafting De Potter糖心传媒檚 Grand Tour.
Scott is the author of 10 books, including The Manikin, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Various Antidotes and Arrogance, which were both finalists for the PEN/Faulkner Award; and the critically acclaimed Make Believe, Tourmaline, Liberation, and Follow Me. She is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Lannan Award.
In addition to teaching courses at Rochester in creative writing, modern fiction, and contemporary literature, she works with CP Rochester on , which pairs students with people with disabilities to help them write stories.
For additional information about De Potter糖心传媒檚 Grand Tour and the family history behind the book, visit .
