Martha Hall Kelly draws inspiration from her family tree for her new historical novel set on Martha's Vineyard

Boston Globe

2 days ago

At age 58, Kelly's second act had arrived. The '75 alum of Hingham's Notre Dame Academy said her history teacher, Mary Glasheen, sparked a love of history and women's stories. 'She got me interested in history, because she told it from a female point-of-view — stories about women. I was hooked after that.'
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'Miss Glasheen' might be proud to know that today, her student's name is synonymous with
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Kelly's fifth and latest, '
The novel's plot in a nutshell: In 2016, 30-something Mari Starwood is on Martha's Vineyard, talking to Mrs. Devereaux, a 90-something Vineyard painter. The artist is telling Mari about the Smiths, who lived on the Vineyard during World War II.
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In 1942, Cadence, 19 and a columnist for the Vineyard Gazette, and younger sister Briar, a 16-year-old eager to catch German spies in their midst, hold down the family farm with Gram after their brother Tom goes off to war. A book lover, Cadence starts the titular club. Soon Briar says she sees German U-boats lurking off the island's shores, Cadence falls for a British soldier, and they find a mysterious German soldier washed ashore…
A love letter to books and book clubs, Kelly's new novel is ripe for summer reading — especially in this neck of the woods, where you could hop a ferry to see the real spots mentioned.
Kelly has a
I called her ahead of
Martha Hall Kelly, author of 'The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club.'
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Q.
This book was inspired by your family's history on Martha's Vineyard. You've summered on the Vineyard your whole life.
A.
I've always wanted to write about my family. They came to Martha's Vineyard in 1891. My great-grandmother and great-grandfather worked the mills in New Bedford. He was off the boat from Scotland. She'd worked the mills since she was 6, picking up spools.
When they retired, they went to Martha's Vineyard and started a farm in West Tisbury. The stories are, my great-grandfather was
not a very nice person. He chopped off the finger of farmer Green next door. There was a property dispute, farmer Green put his hand on the fence, and my great-grandfather took his hoe and chopped his little finger off.
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Then my grandmother, Emma, and my grandfather raised their four kids, including my mother, on Martha's Vineyard.
My mom [Joanne] met my father after the war when she was working as a medical secretary at the military hospital, now the
He proposed, they were off to the races. They moved to Hingham, originally. Years later they moved back to the Vineyard.
Q.
You were born in Milton.
A.
Right. I grew up in Pembroke, later we moved to Hanson. I went to Syracuse, then Northwestern for journalism, graduating in 1981.
Q.
Did you always want to be a writer?
A.
When I realized I could write advertising for a living, I was hooked. But I was never really good at it — I was always trying to make the commercials into continuing characters, and the clients were like, 'No, this is just
one
commercial; you can't do a whole story.' I should've known I really wanted to write novels.
Q.
Cadence is based on your mom. She wasn't a newspaper columnist, but she did have a book club.
A.
She did. She grew up with two best friends: Betty Cottle and Shirley Kennedy. Shirley is still with us. Shirley filled me in on
so
much I didn't know about my mother — old boyfriends, old jobs, trouble they got into doing this and that.
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They were avid readers, swapping books like you wouldn't believe. All they did was read.
Members of the military prepared to depart for Martha's Vineyard from Woods Hole.
Handout
Q.
A major plotline centers on
A.
Isn't that amazing? I'd never heard of them. They were full books, no bigger than a deck of cards. While Germans were burning books, we printed some 1.5 million of those little books. It made a whole generation of men into readers. 'The Great Gatsby' was not a hit, but
Q.
Gram, a good cook, is based on your grandmother.
A.
My grandmother sold doughnuts to soldiers for 25 cents a dozen. I don't know how she made money on that. The soldiers on
My mother was 14 at the time, but she remembered how
handsome
they were. A lot were from
always
talked about how sad that was.
The author Martha Hall Kelly's mother, Joanne Hall, and her friend Betty Cottle.
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Q.
How did you research the island's World War II history?
A.
My mom told me firsthand some stories, but I did a lot of research. Tom Dresser, a historian who lives on the island, [co-wrote]
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Q.
What was the most surprising thing you discovered?
A.
The mock invasion. I didn't realize they sent invasion barges practicing for Normandy to Lambert's Cove Beach in West Tisbury — I grew up on that beach. I had no idea.
They had flour bags to simulate bombs going off, they had barrage balloons, the Navy was strafing the beach in planes. People reported seeing soldiers on their bellies working their way through their gardens. They were freaked out.
Q.
I'm curious: In your acknowledgments, you reference your mom's stories about 'Martha's Vineyard Sign Language.' What's that?
A.
Oh! My mom was
fascinated
with that. There was a gene for deafness that came from England back when people first settled on Martha's Vineyard. [Over generations] there was a prevalence of deafness. My mother remembered, growing up, a lot of people were deaf and used 'Martha's Vineyard Sign Language.'
Even hearing fishermen out on the sea would use it. The sign for 'cod fish' — you draw your fingers down from your chin like a beard. Or poking one finger out from your forehead, that swordfish. That is not American Sign Language. It's
Q.
That's so interesting. So you've got two story lines here, Mari and the Smiths. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
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A.
I plotted the story of two sisters in 1942. But I was growing tomatoes and thought, 'How do I cook green tomatoes?' I looked up 'fried green tomatoes' and while I was making the recipe, I watched the movie. And, I don't know if you remember, Kathy Bates, there's a frame.
Q.
I know what you mean. She's the current-day listener, like Mari.
A.
Exactly! I pantsed Mari's story. Once I added that, the story came alive.
Q.
You said you initially didn't have books in the novel.
A.
I was having [writer's block] early on, wishing my mother had told me more about Martha's Vineyard … from when she was growing up.
One day I went into the attic and found this manila envelope. I pulled out a stack of essays my Aunt Mary had written, about growing up on Martha's Vineyard. It was an amazing piece of research.
In the stack, there was another little envelope with a list of all the books my mom thought my daughter should read. When I tilted the envelope, a gold heart [charm] fell out. She was not sentimental. I thought: 'This is her telling me [to add the books to the story.]' There's no doubt in my mind she led me to that.
Interview was edited and condensed.
Lauren Daley can be reached at