Alice Hoffman, author of numerous adult and young adult books including Practical Magic and Aquamarine, has a new middle grade book, When We Flew Away, a historically based imagining of Anne Frank’s life before the family was forced into hiding. Young Anne is grappling with her developing identity within her family and community, at times blissfully happy and others deeply contemplative. As she navigates crushes, friendships, and insecurity around her seemingly perfect sister Margo, the shadow of the war and coming danger looms. Hoffman spoke with PW about her relationship with Anne Frank’s diary and what the story has meant to her, as well as the challenge of bringing such a well-known historical figure to life.
When did you first discover Anne Frank and how did her diary impact you at that time?
I first read the diary at the age of 12, which I think is a very important age for readers. What you read at 12 affects you more than anything else will. I read her book as the story of a writer and of a Jewish girl. Before this I hadn’t seen writing as a possibility for me—in school we only read male authors—so that had a huge impact on me. Her voice is so immediate—it made me feel close to her. I think her voice is the best in literary history.
Another thing that impacted me was seeing that it is possible to write the truth and for a book to be so intimate. I felt that I knew her but also that she knew me. And that’s what books are about for me as a reader—and at that age especially it is so important to feel known.
Why did you feel that now was the time to tell this part of her story?
Scholastic approached me and asked if I would be interested in the project. I said yes immediately without thinking it might be emotionally difficult, which it was. They asked because there was the sense that Anne’s story might not be known by younger readers and that it was really important for us all to remember how hatred can tear us apart. My 11-year-old niece who lives in Austria had never heard of Anne and if you forget someone and what they went through, they can disappear. Her story is incredibly specific but at the same time it’s bigger than her and encompasses both the stories of antisemitism and anti-immigration sentiment.
Can you tell us about your collaboration with the Anne Frank House, and the research you did for the book?
I was so fortunate to work with the experts at the Anne Frank House. The historians there were very helpful with both research and fact checking. I went to Amsterdam to meet them and became quite friendly with them. They helped me follow in Anne’s footsteps, to see as much of her life as I could. It was especially meaningful to see the apartment where her family lived before they took refuge in the attic. But it was also extremely emotional. Writers who are not safe writing in their own countries are invited to stay in the apartment to write. They invited me to do so as well but I found I couldn’t—just being there was really hard because it felt so normal. It was a neighborhood like any other, with dogs barking and kids playing. It made what happened to Anne and her family feel too close.
How did you approach fictionalizing the real events of an extremely well known figure’s life?
I had two outlines: one of the factual historical timeline and the other of the emotional arcs of the characters. The historical arc was completely factual but the emotional arc had to be invented. Writing about historical figures is like trying to solve a mystery as you try to figure out who they were and get as close to them as you can without ever really knowing them. I felt close to Anne when I first read her book and I still do now. That was why I couldn’t write the story in the first person, but I did try to get as close to her as I could. I think that’s what we are always doing as novelists: putting ourselves in the shoes of others. For me, writing the story was a full-circle moment, coming back to what originally inspired me to become a writer. Who would have imagined when I first read her book at age 12 that I’d be involved with an incredible project like this?
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman. Scholastic Press, $19.99 Sept. 17 ISBN 978-1-338-85694-1
