Booking Through Thursday, A Day Late

I'm (a) sweltering in 90-degree-plus heat; (b) waiting with feet tapping for my copies of the new edition of The Traitor's Wife to come in; (c) sulking over the fact that neither I nor my pretty new books will be able to make it to the Historical Novel Society's North American conference in Albany this weekend; and (d) actually caring whether Paris Hilton will be put back into jail. As none of the above, especially the last, is particularly constructive or healthy, I thought I'd join this meme, albeit belatedly:

Booking Through Thursday

Almost everyone can name at least one author that you would love just ONE more book from. Either because they’re dead, not being published any more, not writing more, not producing new work for whatever reason . . . or they’ve aged and aren’t writing to their old standards any more . . . For whatever reason, there just hasn’t been anything new (or worth reading) of theirs and isn’t likely to be.

If you could have just ONE more book from an author you love . . . a book that would be as good any of their best (while we’re dreaming) . . . something that would round out a series, or finish their last work, or just be something NEW . . . Who would the author be, and why? Jane Austen? Shakespeare? Laurie Colwin? Kurt Vonnegut?

Well, to start with dead folk, I'd love to see how Dickens would have finished The Mystery of Edwin Drood and how Elizabeth Gaskell would have written the last chapter of Wives and Daughters (it's obvious that a happy ending was in store, but not exactly how it would have come about). I'd love another Jane Austen, please. And wouldn't it be nice if Shakespeare could write about Edward I and Edward II?

Living folk are harder, as someone will always surprise you and come out with something just when you'd never expected to hear from them again. There are several historical novelists I'd love to see more things from, but as I'm not sure whether they're dead or just no longer writing or being published, I won't make a gaffe by mentioning their names.

One thing I do know: I'm eager to see Sharon Penman's sequel to Time and Chance.