Alice Hoffman's critically acclaimed historical novel THE DOVEKEEPERS has been embraced by a significant and devoted readership since it was first published in 2011 by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. On Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 1 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT, each night) the film adaptation of Hoffman's book will premiere as a limited event series on CBS, with Roma Downey and Mark Burnett as executive producers.
Alice Hoffman has written 30 works of fiction. In addition to her blockbuster bestseller The Dovekeepers, she's also written Practical Magic, The Red Garden, Oprah's Book Club Selection Here on Earth and The Museum of Extraordinary Things. Her first novel for middle-grade readers, Nightbird, is out this month (March 2015), and her new novel, The Marriage of Opposites, will be published in August 2015.
In an interview in early March 2015, Hoffman, a consulting producer on THE DOVEKEEPERS, discussed her motivation for writing the novel, what the book means to her, and how it ended up being made into a
CBS limited event series.
Q: What gave you the idea to write The Dovekeepers?
HOFFMAN:
THE DOVEKEEPERS really came to me by surprise. My son is an archeologist, and he had been working in the Middle East. I decided that because of him I should find out more about archeological sites. So, I decided I wanted to go see Masada, and that's really how the book began for me.
Masada is now in ruins but beautiful ruins. I happened to go when it was 110 degrees in August; I went with my sister and brother-in-law. When we got there, we were the only people there, which was kind of a miracle for me because I felt I could hear the voices of the people of the past who had lived there.
When I was walking around Masada I really felt that I wanted to give a voice to women in the ancient times who never got to tell their stories... I felt I could almost hear their voices and I wanted to let their story be told.
Q: What is the story of Masada?
HOFFMAN: The story begins in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. when the Romans took over the city and took over the temple and everyone had to flee. Some of those people fled to an ancient fortress in the desert called Masada. My characters come from different places, but they all find themselves in the same place at Masada working together.
Q: Describe how you became familiar with the history of Masada.
HOFFMAN: I really didn't know anything about the history of the Jews or the history of Israel or about
ROME or the Roman forces. When I got to the museum at Masada and I saw the artifacts of the people who had been there, the women who had been there, it changed things for me. I mean, to see people's shoes, to see their makeup, to see their jewelry - to see that real people lived in this place, it was really inspiring to me. Also, I saw a little sign that said there had been survivors. I had always heard stories of Masada - that it was a mass suicide and that there were no survivors. So, when I came home I read writings by the historian Josephus. He's really the only historian who told the story of Masada, and he said that there were survivors -- that two women and five children had survived by hiding in the water system. That's how the story [of the Siege of Masada] came to be known, and that for me was the beginning of the novel. If there had not been survivors I could have not written the novel.
Q: In addition to reading the accounts by Josephus, how did you research the story?
HOFFMAN: I researched the story by reading Josephus and reading about nomadic people of the ancient times and also of that particular time. I did a lot of archaeological research and a lot of what happens in the book, especially the magical aspect of it, was taken from charms and amulets that were in museums in Israel and in Europe. I did a lot of archaeological research personally - again my son is an archaeologist - and I felt like it's an interesting way to tell the story. You start with an object and then you imagine whose object it is.
Q: Explain the title and the title characters.
HOFFMAN: At Masada, there are ancient dovecotes. Doves were used for many purposes in the ancient world. So, these women are dovekeepers. They work in the dovecotes, they work with the doves but they are also the keepers of peace. I think that all of these characters, all of these women, want peace.
Q: What is the journey of the story?
HOFFMAN: I think the journey of the story is really about forgiveness and love and that the most important thing is the people who are close to you and the survival of your children and the survival of your story.
THE DOVEKEEPERS is really about storytelling and how people live on if there history lives on. If you destroy the history, you destroy the people as well.
Q: When the book was published, how was it received?
HOFFMAN: It was really interesting, because I came to the book not as a historian but as a novelist. I discovered these other worlds through writing the book, and I was really very moved by the reaction and the response to the book. People felt that they were hearing a story they never heard before and that it was very important to hear of the other 50% of the world's side of war. Women and children are very affected by war, and
THE DOVEKEEPERS is that story.
Q: Who read the book? What kind of feedback did you get from your readers?
HOFFMAN: I have mothers and daughters who read the book, and I have men who like historical novels who read my book... I think it expanded my readership because people came to it wanting to know about these women. People who had never read me before read
THE DOVEKEEPERS and found a story that they wanted to hear.
Q: What reactions surprised you the most?
HOFFMAN: I think the reaction that surprised me the most was really my own, because when I went to Masada I didn't expect to be so emotionally affected. I felt like I was in a really spiritual place. I had kind of, I wouldn't say a conversion, but I felt that I could hear the voices of the women who had preceded me and it was a very spiritual experience and that I didn't expect.
Q: Did you ever think about the story in cinematic terms?
HOFFMAN: I thought about the story being told to me by the women who were my characters. It's almost that I didn't have to look for the story, they came in and told me the story. I feel like it's a very big story, so it seemed like it could be filmed. It's such a beautiful place with such amazing people and colors and such amazing spirit, but I really felt like somebody was whispering a story to me.
Q: Were you surprised when
Roma Downey contacted you?
HOFFMAN: The funny thing is I had been
a fan of Roma's, and I was surprised when she contacted me. But, what I was the most surprised about was that she completely got the story almost as if she had written it. I think her interest in women in the ancient world is what really drew us together; the fact that these stories had not been told before and had not been written down. That was really moving to me and I think really connected us.
Q: What convinced you that Downey's project would do the book justice?
HOFFMAN: One of the things that Roma felt was that it's a story of several women, but all are threads of the same story. That the story had to do with survival and peace and the telling of people's history - and that for me is what
THE DOVEKEEPERS was as a novel and I felt that's what it would be for her as a series.
Q: Have you seen the limited series?
HOFFMAN: I have seen it. I have to say, I cried during a lot of it. It was very emotional to see these women brought to life. The actresses who become my characters [
Cote de Pablo, Rachel Brosnahan and Kathryn Prescott] were the most wonderful part of seeing it. They do an incredible job. I feel like they bring such spirit, such raw emotion to the parts. That, for me, was the most important part.
With the production values, you really feel like you're there. I think it's incredible what they did. You feel that you are at the spot where it happened, and the colors, the life, the background all make it feel so real.
Q: Talk about the differences between the book and the limited series.
HOFFMAN: A novel and a film can never be the same thing, because it's just a different time frame. You can't tell everything that's in a large novel in a film. Some things get lost and some things get added. It's the same and yet different. For me, Josephus telling the story [in the television project, not the book] is interesting, because I realized that the book was all about storytelling. I didn't really understand that until I saw the part with Josephus in it. I realized that if these people don't get to tell their story, then the story dies and the people they loved disappear. I've always thought that storytelling was very important. While that's what I do, I realize more than ever that, in terms of history, in terms of archaeology, how important it is to a people not to be erased. The one way to do it is to be able to tell your story.
Q: Is there anything timely about the story?
HOFFMAN: I feel that the story of the women in
THE DOVEKEEPERS is happening right now -- all over the world. It's a specific story about what happens at Masada to these women, but I also think it's a timeless story about what happens to women and children and more during war. I feel like now more than ever it's really important to think about and talk about peace.
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