The author who edited Tennessee Williams's Notebooks is on a book tour. Margaret Bradham Thornton is touring in support of her new novel Charleston. Thornton appeared at Talking Leaves in Buffalo Wednesday. Tuesday at noon she appears at the Chautauqua Institution's Bookstore to sign copies. WBFO's Eileen Buckley had a chance to speak with Thornton, who spent a decade editing the writings of Williams.
There were over 2,000 unpublished manuscripts in the works of Williams.
"He was incredibly disciplined and worked very hard. It was supposed to take three years, but when I started it, I didn't know what I had," said Thornton. "He would rework a piece, for example, The Glass Menagerie, which seems seamless. It took him almost eight years to write," said Thorton.
Thornton is now promoting her own book, Charleston.
"Having grown up in Charleston, I often felt that the ways in which the South and southern women, in particular, have been portrayed in literature, drama, and film skated close to caricature. I wanted to write a novel that showed Charleston from the inside out and revealed the nuances of a small, but in many ways, cultured southern town. As with many closed societies, being on the inside feels and looks very different than being on the outside,” said Thornton.