On this Lit Show, Elizabeth Stuckey-French discusses her latest novel, The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady.
The book concerns Marylou Ahearn, a 77-year-old woman—who’d like to become a murderer. Years ago, while pregnant with her daughter, a hospital physician gave Marylou a radioactive cocktail that was presented to her as a “health cocktail.” She drank it and became, unwittingly, a participant in a dangerous research experiment. The substance ruined her health, as well the health of her daughter, who eventually died from complications.
Decades later, Marylou has located Dr. Wilson Spriggs, the man who poisoned her—and she’s plotting her revenge. As she works her way into the fractious and highly eccentric Spriggs family, however, her desire for revenge mutates into something else entirely.
In this interview, we discussed revenge as a narrative engine, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, black humor, and the challenges of raising children with Aspergers’ syndrome (a prominent theme of the book). Stuckey-French also addressed her challenging—but ultimately rewarding—experience as a student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
The author will read from Revenge of the Radioactive Lady at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City on Monday, April 18th, at 7 PM.
