Après-Midi Recap

Meg Bortin is an old friend who I’ve known for about 30 years. When we met, she was an editor at the International Herald Tribune. She is an award-winning American journalist and as a reporter and editor, she covered international affairs for 30 years, with postings in Paris, London and Moscow. Her previous literary works include a memoir, Desperate to Be a Housewife (Mirabelle Books, 2013), and a personal essay, Dear Djeneba, in Family Wanted: Stories of Adoption (Granta Books, 2005; Random House, 2006). She is also the author of a culinary blog, The Everyday French Chef.

Meg came to Après-Midi to talk about her new novel, The Rites of Man, which tells the story of an independent-minded woman whose entanglement with an author upends both their lives and sparks a national conversation about artistic legitimacy and the rights of women. The story is set in 1996 and the author in question is Tom Paine, who built his National Book Award-winning career by writing contemporary novels under the titles of his revolutionary namesake, Thomas Paine: Common Sense, The American Crisis. And there the trouble begins…

According to Meg, there’s a real twist in the story she refused to divulge! She read some passages and enlightened us all with her stories and answers to her questions. You won’t want to miss watching the entire session on our YouTube channel.

Website
On Amazon