Peggy, as she was known to her family, lived in search of community. The letters told the story of Margaret Marcus, a Jewish woman raised in post-World War II upstate New York. When biographer Deborah Baker came across a collection of letters at the New York Public Library, she opened a window into a particularly complex life. But it was when I read her letters to her parents that I found her voice - really clear-eyed and very human.A Q&A with biographer Deborah Baker, author of The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism, released last month by Greywolf Press. She arrived in Pakistan the same year as Allen Ginsberg arrived in India, and her critique of America echoed his in a way. I stumbled across her name -I’d never heard of her – but when I heard the description of who she was, it seemed so obvious in a way. I was looking for an interesting archive.
How did you know Margaret was the one you wanted to write about? I didn’t know it was going to be a book initially. Her parents were close-minded and couldn’t see it except as a psychological problem – which was emblematic of the time. Just the same way with Peggy and her parents. Growing up going to Church, and then not going and then deciding I’m not going to be a good Christian…you still feel there’s no need to argue about it. Why did you choose to write about this topic? My parents raged over the question of religion.
It’sa well-narrated account of ayoung American woman, Margaret Marcus,who decides to convert from Judaism to Islam, and move to Pakistan.
Surrounded by raw-silk cushions from India and pictures of her family, I sit down with the Pulitzer Prize nominee to discuss her newly released book, The Convert: A Tale of Exile And Extremism. Deborah Baker’s home, which she shares with her husband, author Amitav Ghosh, is nestled among the tree-lined sidewalks in Brooklyn, New York.
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