Art In Fiction

Speakeasies, Crime & Redemption in The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau

Carol Cram Episode 43
Audio Player
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00:00 | 39:13

Join  me as I chat with Nancy Bilyeau, author of several arts-inspired novels on Art In Fiction, including The Orchid Hour about a speakeasy in 1923 Jazz-Age New York and listed in the Theater category on Art In Fiction.

View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CvIYJYb-PfQ

Highlights include:

  • Why Nancy set her latest novel in Prohibition-era New York
  • The role played by the Italian American immigrant community in the novel
  • Researching organized crime in Jazz-Age New York 
  • Real speakeasies and the fictional Orchid Hour speakeasy 
  • Liberation of women in the 1920s
  • Greenwich Village as the setting for The Orchid Hour speakeasy
  • Prohibition in Jazz-Age New York - did the cops really care?
  • Why orchids?
  • Themes in The Orchid Hour
  • Reading from The Orchid Hour
  • Discussion of The Fugitive Colours, the follow-up novel to The Blue
  • Journey of a female artist/spy in 18th-century London
  • Opportunities for female painters in the 18th century
  • What Nancy has learned from writing historical fiction
  • Nancy's next novel: The Versailles Formula 

Press Play now & be sure to check out The Orchid Hour and Nancy's other novels on Art In Fiction: https://www.artinfiction.com/novels?q=nancy+bilyeau

Nancy Bilyeau's Website: https://nancybilyeau.com/

Music Credit
Paganology, performed by The Paul Plimley Trio; composed by Gregg Simpson

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Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany and Love Among the Recipes. Find out more on her website.