KCHO Interview with Nancy Wiegman

Nancy Wiegman is the host of Nancy's Bookshop, a regular feature on Northstate Public Radio. She also happens to be keenly interested in history and language. We had a great time talking with her on a wide range of subjects.

Topics:

Richard at long last gets to recite "Cædmon's Hymn" in Early West Saxon, while TJ asks for a drink in Mountain Maidu. • Thoughts on the perils of writing about many cultures.

The political history behind QONM: the Broderick-Terry duel, and Albert Sidney Johnston's painful choice.

Richard reads from Chapter 8, "The Republic of the Pacific," and discusses the agonizing dilemma Lincoln faced before assuming office. • TJ reads from Will's conference with Dr. Forbes at the National Hotel about the prospects of the Confederacy in California. • TJ also reads the thoughts of Lazarus, Will's body servant, as he contemplates escape to the Union lines. • Richard confesses that Will is modeled on John Singleton Mosby. • TJ reads Will's letter to his mother, laying out the hard choices facing a reluctant Confederate.

All the characters in QONM, save the Nisenan, are immigrants who must redefine themselves in the brave new world of American California.