The Story Behind Ann Patchett’s New Novel
Patchett’s ‘The Dutch House’ took many drafts and lots of time
Ann Patchett’s latest novel, The Dutch House, started with Zadie Smith. It was November 2016. Patchett was interviewing Smith on a stage at Belmont University in Nashville. The two writers were discussing Smith’s novel, Swing Time.
Smith called the novel autofiction. She explained that, to her, autofiction didn’t have to always be about what happened to you. It could also be about what you’re afraid of taking place in your life.
“I thought that was brilliant,” Patchett said. “At that moment, sitting on a stage with her at Belmont University, I thought, I want to write a book about the kind of stepmother I don’t want to be.”
Writing what became The Dutch House didn’t come easy for Patchett. She started a new draft ten times. Patchett worked on the manuscript for two years. Still, she didn’t have a finished product and was at a loss for how to bring her story together. The deadline for when she had to get her manuscript to her publisher drew near.
And that’s when Patchett reached out to other writers for help. Barbara Kingsolver was staying…
