» Schenectady native John Sayles returning to Capital Region with latest book, ‘Jamie MacGillivray’

Whether it’s on film or in print, Schenectady native John Sayles knows how to make a story.

Known as a screenwriter, he has been a major force in the independent film industry for the past four decades, directing more than a dozen feature films including Return of the Secaucus Seven, Lone Star, Passion Fish and “Honeydripper”. ” and other.

He returns to the Capital Region on Thursday, March 30th to celebrate his latest story, Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade’s Journey. He will be reading at 6pm at the Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs

The sprawling novel begins in 1746 at the bloody Battle of Culloden in the Scottish Highlands. After his comrades are killed, the novel’s title character escapes execution, only to be captured by the enemy and taken to Marshalsea Prison. While he manages to survive prison, he later faces another test when he is sentenced to hard labor and shipped to colonial America.

His arduous journey is accompanied by Jenny Ferguson, a destitute village girl who is brought up by the English under false accusations and also sent to America. On their travels, the two meet at key moments. You’ll also encounter well-known historical figures such as George Washington and the writer Henry Fielding.

The book, released last month, runs to more than 700 pages and was praised by The New York Times, which described it as “a powerful, epic, and multidimensional story, a narrative richer and more varied than any film could hope to contain.” ”

It’s perhaps a particularly interesting note considering the novel began as an idea for a film more than 20 years ago.

“I got a call from Scottish actor Robert Carlyle and he had this idea for a film about a Highland Scott being defeated at the Battle of Culloden trying to drive the English out of Scotland,” Sayles said.

He liked the idea and wrote a screenplay for it. They explored locations across Scotland and elsewhere.

“We were never able to raise the money for it. So it sat there for about 20 years and then just at the start of COVID I took a good interest in it, maybe I should look at that. That’s such a good story. Maybe I can turn this into a novel,” Sayles said.

Not entirely unusual for the writer, who has often swung back and forth between film and novel.

“If I haven’t been able to find money for a film for a while, I often fall back on the fiction I’ve been working on,” Sayles said.

Despite its length, Sayles said he wrote the novel relatively quickly.

“I had already done half the research for writing the screenplay. And I just had to dig a little bit deeper and supplement some things with the research, and I always write quickly,” Sayles said.

The research required to convincingly write a novel that takes place in different locations and captures not only major battles but also local dialogue was extensive.

“I had to do some research on the ships that people would translate, and I was able to very accurately find the names of the ships and some of the transcripts of their voyages and got some good ideas from them,” Sayles said. “You have to research the guns, you have to research what people in the different classes ate, who wore wigs and who didn’t in England. And then when you come to the New World, you have to investigate what the politics of the tribes themselves were.”

He also read fiction from the period, including works by Charles Dickens and Henry Fielding, to get a sense of the humor.

In the script, Jenny was a minor character, but Sayles decided to flesh out her story in the novel, detailing how she survives dangerous situations.

“Obviously, even today, surviving hard times as a woman is very different than surviving as a man, and just back then there weren’t that many roles that women were accepted into,” Sayles said. “Part of their survival is just who can I find to protect them? Who can I find who will make my life easier or even make life possible for me?”

While Jamie and Jenny cross paths a few times throughout the novel, their relationship is not romance.

“The world events around them are like tidal waves. And they’re just treading water to survive,” Sayles said.

Jamie MacGillivray is his sixth novel and the first he has been able to tour with in a while. His previous book, Yellow Earth, was released in early 2020 and most supporting readings and book signings have been cancelled.

“It’s nice to have readings where people can actually go back to the stores or wherever you read and people see again,” Sayles said.

While Jamie MacGillivray isn’t set in the Capital Region, local readers may still appreciate some of the story it covers.

“The French and Indian War had a huge impact on the Capital District, and that’s one of the main settings of ‘Jamie MacGillivray,’ so people who are interested in that story would be interested in the book,” Sayles said.

Jamie MacGillivray, published by Melville House, is available from Northshire and other booksellers. For more information about the Northshire event, visit northshire.com.

Reporting in the Official Journal

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