Beyond the Book: Background information when reading The House of Tailors

Beyond the Book

This article relates to The House of Tailors

Patricia Reilly Giff, author of about 60 books for children, says that she tries to write books "that say ordinary people are special."  She says that all of her books are based in some way on her personal experiences, or the experiences of members of her family, or children she meets.  In an afterword to The House of Tailors she explains that the character of Dina is based on her great-grandmother, 'a loving, laughing woman...who was the heart of our family even long after her death'.

Her latest book, Water Street, was published last week.  Set in Brooklyn, it continues the story started in Nory Ryans Song (2000) and Maggies Door (2003).

For a short history of Brooklyn visit brooklynonline.com

The Franco-Prussian War, sometimes known as the Franco-German War, (1870-71) was a conflict between France and Prussia provoked by Otto von Bismarck (then the Prussian Prime Minister and later the first Chancellor of Germany) as part of his plan to create a unified German Empire (Deutsches Reich).

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This article relates to The House of Tailors. It first ran in the September 20, 2006 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.