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Mary Doria Russell

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.marydoriarussell.net/

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Literature & Fiction

Member Since

November 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/marydoriarussell

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Mary Doria Russell is an American author. She was born in 1950 in the suburbs of Chicago. Her parents were both in the military; her father was a Marine Corps drill sergeant, and her mother was a Navy nurse.

She holds a Ph.D. in Paleoanthropology from the University of Michigan, and has also studied cultural anthropology at the University of Illinois, and social anthropology at Northeastern University in Boston. Russell lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband Don and their two dogs.

Mary is shy about online stuff like Goodreads, but she responds to all email, and would prefer to do that through her website.

Photo by Jeff Rooks

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Popular Answered Questions

What was the most difficult part about getting your first book published? And if you had it over, would you do something differently?

Mary Doria Russell Well, the fact that my first book was about Jesuits in space didn't exactly help! Getting turned down by 31 agencies was awful and I probably should h…moreWell, the fact that my first book was about Jesuits in space didn't exactly help! Getting turned down by 31 agencies was awful and I probably should have given up, but ultimately it worked out. The Sparrow will be reissued with a 20th anniversary edition next year.(less)

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I'm about to read #Epitaph, and I haven't got any prior knowledge regarding to the book. So I'd like to ask whether it be better if I'd watched "Gunfight at the O.K.Corral" film (1957) before start reading?

Mary Doria Russell Oh, Lord! NO! Not that one. As you'll learn at the end of Epitaph, the movies of the 1940s-1980s present very inaccurate portrayals of what happened i…moreOh, Lord! NO! Not that one. As you'll learn at the end of Epitaph, the movies of the 1940s-1980s present very inaccurate portrayals of what happened in Arizona in 1881 and why.

The best movie is "Tombstone" with Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. There are factual errors in that as well, but it's the closest to reality. There is a great deal of operatic violence at the end, but that's the way the American mythology about the gunfight has evolved. If you watch that movie, then you'll be aware of how the story has been simplified into Good Guys versus Bad Guys.

All the characters in Epitaph are real. I tried to be fair and compassionate to every one of them, but I was also writing about how the gunfight became central to American beliefs about the West. You can see how this plays out in contemporary politics, as well. I hope you like the book.(less)

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Combine Editions
Mary Doria Russell’s books

Average rating: 4.04 · 250,749 ratings · 24,507 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz, #1) by Walter M. Miller Jr., Mary Doria Russell (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.98 avg rating — 111,025 ratings — published 1959 — 177 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1) 4.14 avg rating — 76,699 ratings — published 1996 — 62 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Children of God (The Sparrow, #2) 4.09 avg rating — 21,627 ratings — published 1998 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Doc 3.99 avg rating — 16,883 ratings — published 2011 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Thread of Grace 4.01 avg rating — 14,743 ratings — published 2005 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Women of the Copper Country 4.11 avg rating — 8,126 ratings — published 2019 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Epitaph 4.13 avg rating — 6,115 ratings — published 2015 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dreamers of the Day 3.66 avg rating — 6,218 ratings — published 2008 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Has Happened: An Italian Family in Auschwitz by Piera Sonnino, David Denby (Goodreads Author) (Foreword), Mary Doria Russell (Goodreads Author) (Afterword) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 344 ratings — published 2004 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	2 Paperback Books: The Sparrow + Children of God 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Mary Doria Russell…

4.13 avg rating — 98,315 ratings

Doc Holliday (2 books)
by

Mary Doria Russell (Goodreads Author)

4.03 avg rating — 22,996 ratings

Her Favorite Westerns: Not just for gunslingers, the real Wild West comes to life in these five frontier tales recommended by the author of Epitaph.

Polls

September Side Read Nominations ~ 1st Poll
Top 5 Books move onto final poll

Next Year in Havana

by Chanel Cleeton

10 votes, 22.2%

The Cutting Season

by Attica Locke

7 votes, 15.6%

That Night

by Chevy Stevens

6 votes, 13.3%

The Heart's Invisible Furies

by John Boyne

6 votes, 13.3%

Moxie

by Jennifer Mathieu

3 votes, 6.7%

Meddling Kids

by Edgar Cantero

3 votes, 6.7%

The Last Suppers

by Mandy Mikulencak

3 votes, 6.7%

Final Girls

by Riley Sager

3 votes, 6.7%

Swimming Lessons

by Claire Fuller

3 votes, 6.7%

Doc

by Mary Doria Russell

1 vote, 2.2%

45 total votes

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