Crafting a Complex Historical Character from Minimal Evidence

Vox's Constance Grady talks with novelist Lauren Groff about her latest book, the National Book Award finalist Matrix, before a virtual audience for the Vox Book Club. They discuss the enigmatic historical figure at the center of the novel, the politics of women-led power structures, and the pros and cons of writing a good sex scene.

Host: Constance Grady (@constancegrady), staff writer, Vox

Guests: Lauren Groff (@legroff), author

References: 

• Matrix by Lauren Groff (2021; Riverhead)
• "In Lauren Groff's Matrix, medieval nuns build a feminist utopia" by Constance Grady (Oct. 15, 2021; Vox)
• Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (2016; Riverhead)
• The Lays of Marie de France (tr. Eugene Mason)
• Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman (2019; Norton)
• Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore (2014; Vintage)
• Arcadia by Lauren Groff (2012; Voice)

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This episode was made by: 

• Producer: Erikk Geannikis
• Editor: Amy Drozdowska
• Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
• Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

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