Discussion of "Under the Wide and Starry Sky" by Nancy Horan

February 27, 2017, at Mary Lib's house

Our discussion of Nancy Horan’s book, Under the Wide and Starry Sky,” touched upon themes of the unlikely match of Fanny and Louis, of complicated love, of friendship, of the roles of women, and of RLS’s astounding creativity and productivity. Annie, Libby, Saran, Paige, Joan, Maddy, Margie, and I (Mary Lib) met at my house on February 27. Since we were ¾ of the way through our discussion before I remembered to take notes, forgive me for missing insightful individual contributions.

The group basically applauded Fanny for her gutsy move to Europe, after the demise of her marriage, so she and her daughter could study drawing and painting. However, the logistics of such a move did seem daunting, most likely imposing hardship on her children.

We explored the attraction between Louis and Fanny and the important role she played in enabling Louis to pursue his creative talents, while minimizing her own opportunities for creative pursuits and recognition.

We talked a lot about the theme of friendship woven throughout the book. This included Fanny and Louis’s friendship, the complicated and perhaps shallow friendships with some of their literary friends, and the substantive friendships they enjoyed with their Samoan friends. Libby read a section where Henley criticized Louis’s “Child’s Story of Verses.” She actually brought a copy of the book to our meeting, and remembered what a good book it actually was.

Discussions about the roles of women repeatedly cropped up. We looked at the picture of Fanny & Louis drawn by John Singer Sargent, contemplating if Fanny was portrayed as mysterious or minimalized. Louis probably could not have achieved the degree of success he enjoyed without Fanny’s support and sacrifices, yet he was slow to acknowledge the value of her contributions.

Annie said she liked Louis. Libby appreciated his joyfulness. We all marveled at his ability to write brilliantly and extensively while suffering ill health. Joan observed that with today’s medical norms, someone like Louis would probably be more heavily medicated and wondered if his creativity would have been stifled. Maddy compared his poor health to Wilbur Wright’s illness; both men seemed to thrive creatively while ill.

Saran said she had to remind herself this was a novel, not a biography, speaking to the confusion that sometimes arises with historical fiction.

The gathering ended with all of us being enriched by Horan’s writing and by what we learned from the various observations of our fellow members.