Alix Rickloff is the author of the new novel The Last Light Over Oslo. Her other novels include The Girls in Navy Blue. She lives in Maryland.
Q: What inspired you to focus on Ambassador Daisy Harriman (1870-1967) in your new novel?
A: I first came across Daisy as a minor walk-on character in the PBS series Atlantic Crossing and was immediately curious about who this sharp, in-the-know woman might be.
A quick Google search later, I was blown away after learning about this New York socialite turned suffragette, social reformer, political appointee, and Washington, D.C., mover and shaker who had contributed so much to this country and been basically forgotten.
Then when I read about her adventures as minister to Norway following the German invasion, it was almost a “truth is stranger than fiction” moment and I knew I had to write about her.
Q: How did you research the novel, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: Daisy’s memoirs From Pinafores to Politics and Mission to the North were crucial in-depth sources for establishing the history behind her growing significance in American politics, and in offering me a window into her time in Norway that culminated in her acting as escort to Crown Princess Martha and her children.
These coupled with the US State Department’s record of diplomatic correspondence between embassies for 1940 and Daisy’s private papers which are housed at the Library of Congress gave me a sense of the political situation of the time and the chaos that followed the German invasion of Norway.
Finally, I traveled to Sweden and Norway where I was able to visit many of the sites where my book took place, including the legations in Oslo and Stockholm.
As a lover of history, the research is almost as fun as the writing so learning about the events surrounding WWII’s often overlooked Norwegian campaign was fascinating.
Then I discovered that the first official American military death of the war not only happened during the invasion of Norway but to someone working with Daisy during her chaotic escape. Captain Robert Losey figures large in Daisy’s memoirs and very loosely inspired the character of Lieutenant Bayard in the book.
Q: What do you think Harriman's experiences say about the role of women in diplomacy during the World War II period?
A: Sadly, Harriman was still very much an outlier in diplomatic circles. She was only the second woman to be appointed a US minister when she landed in Norway in 1937 (Ruth Bryan Owen, who served in Denmark, was the first).
In many respects, Daisy had to do double duty as diplomat and diplomat’s wife while also fighting society’s baked-in misogyny. Upon her appointment, she had friends congratulating her on one hand while simultaneously disparaging women’s capabilities on the other.
Some historians theorize she was given the appointment to Norway because it was considered a safe posting for a woman as it was a small country with little significance to US interests.
No one could have foreseen the events of 1940 or how Daisy would rise to meet the challenges of dancing the diplomatic line between Germany and the UK in the early tense months of war and then being thrust into the position of the US government’s eyes on the ground after the invasion.
Q: The writer Bryn Turnbull called the novel “a beautifully paced and written story, which introduces readers to Daisy Harriman, a historical heroine of epic proportions who revolutionized the role of ambassador in a world at war.” What do you think of that description, and how well-known was Daisy Harriman in her day?
A: I was thrilled to bits to have Bryn read an early copy of the The Last Light Over Oslo and say such lovely things.
And she’s right! Daisy was a historical heroine with an enormous list of accomplishments to her name, including the founding of the Colony Club, organizing the Red Cross Motor Corps during WWI, and lobbying for President Wilson’s League of Nations during the Paris Peace Talks. So, I have to imagine she was very well-known in her day.
Even so, it was her adventures in Norway that really catapulted her onto the front pages of newspapers with such headlines as “Daisy Puts Another Feather In Her Diplomatic Bonnet”, “Daisy Harriman Is Woman Of The Week”, and “Daisy Harriman Shows Skill As A War Diplomat”, and my personal favorite, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s “…the Hedy Lamarr of Grandmothers…”
Even as late as the ‘60s, Daisy was still very politically involved, fighting for DC statehood and being honored by President Kennedy with a Citation of Merit for Distinguished Service in 1963.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m drafting a new book which is still in the early stages so I’m keeping it close to the vest for now.
I can tell you that it’s a departure for me in terms of time period and subject matter, and I’ve really been enjoying diving into the research for it, though I’m both excited and a little ashamed that, as both a history major and a lover of historical fiction, I knew so little before I started. I’m hoping to rectify that.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I was honored and excited to be able to bring Daisy Harriman and her accomplishments to a new generation of readers, but I’m not the only author who has discovered this fabulous and charismatic American heroine.
Shelley Noble’s The Colony Club comes out in October and features a younger Daisy as she founds and organizes the first social club for women. I couldn’t be happier to see two Daisy books in one year!!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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