Word: novels
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Though he has received mixed critical reviews, Martin’s novels are widely read—he’s been on the New York Times bestseller list three times. The author readily admits that he is not aiming to pen the next great American novel. “My job is to write books people stay up late reading,” Martin says...
...work has taken a more personal turn, using his reflections on Harvard and his son’s current experiences. A couple of years ago, father and son started thinking seriously about Harvard; Dan was filling out his college application as William was researching a setting for his next novel. Ultimately, both decided on Harvard. “It was the seed of learning that created a generation that, in the Northeast, created the American Revolution,” says Martin. “Really, what location is more legendary...
Harvard Yard follows generations of the fictional Wedge family from 1636 to the present day as they guard a missing Shakespeare play, Love's Labours Won. The novel postulates that William Shakespeare gave Robert Harvard a handwritten quarto. Harvard is the father of John, and thus the play—and the novel’s setting—make their way to a fledgling New England college. The play falls into the hands of one of Harvard’s first students, Isaac Wedge...
...early years, the Wedge family tries to hide the play from book-burning Cotton Mather types. Centuries later, the Wedges attempt to unearth the missing play, hoping to sell it and build a residential Wedge House. Antique bookseller Peter Fallon, the main character from Martin’s 1980 novel Back Bay, ties the narrative together as he helps the modern day Wedges on their search...
Martin put in months of research for the novel, both in the library and auditing Reverend Peter J. Gomes’ “History of Harvard” course. His work pays off in the historical details that make Yard so captivating, like early students trudging across the yard in the snow to use outhouses, and President Eliot giving the crew team crimson neck ties—giving Harvard teams a name...