News & Events

If you are interested in having Wendy Swallow talk to a group about Searching for Nora, contact her here.

We’ve included in our listings productions of both A Doll’s House and of A Doll’s House, Part 2, a 2017 comic stage sequel playing in regional theaters.

Books will be available for purchase at all speaking events. We encourage readers to patronize the local bookstores that have hosted the events listed below.

2019

Aug. 26: Official publication date for Wendy Swallow’s Searching for Nora: After the Doll’s House (Peavine Mountain Press).

Sept. 6-Nov. 24, DENVER, CO.: The Denver Center Theater Company will perform A Doll’s House and A Doll’s House, Part 2, by Lucas Hnath, in repertory.

Sept. 18-Oct. 6, WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT: A Doll’s House, Part 2, will be staged by Northern Stage Company.

Sept. 21, ROCKVILLE, MD: Wendy Swallow will autograph copies of her novel and talk with readers at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at 12089 Rockville Pike (just north of Montrose Parkway). From 1 pm to 3 pm.

Sept. 21, FAIRFAX, VA: Wendy Swallow will speak to the Washington (DC-area) Lodge of the Sons of Norway about her search for Nora Helmer in Norway and in the western prairie of Minnesota.

Sept. 25-Dec. 15, GLENCOE, IL: A Doll’s House will be staged by Writers Theatre in this community north of Chicago, IL.

Oct. 4-Nov. 17, ALBUQUERQUE, NM: The Vortex Theatre will show A Doll’s House and the A Doll’s House, Part 2 sequel in rotating repertory. On November 10, both plays will be offered, back to back.

Oct. 12, RENO, NV: Wendy Swallow will autograph copies of her novel and talk with readers at the Sundance Books at 121 California Avenue. From 1 pm to 3 pm.

Oct. 16-Nov. 10, KANSAS CITY, MO: A Doll’s House, Part 2, will be staged by the Unicorn Theater. Kansas City Actors Theater staged A Doll’s House by Ibsen in August.

Nov. 7, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Wendy Swallow will speak and sign books at Magers & Quinn Booksellers starting at 7 pm. Magers & Quinn is located at 3038 Hennepin Avenue South.

Nov. 8, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Wendy Swallow will speak and sign books at Ingebretsen’s Nordic Marketplace from 1 pm to 3 pm. Ingebretsen’s is located at at 1601 E. Lake Street.

Nov. 9, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Wendy Swallow will talk about Searching for Nora at Norway House, located at 913 E Franklin Ave. This 1 pm event is sponsored by the Sons of Norway Vonheim Lodge. Members of the general public are welcome to attend.

Nov. 10, NORTHFIELD, MN: Wendy Swallow will talk about her search for Nora Helmer, both in Norway and in the Minnesota prairie, at the Northfield Public Library starting at 1:30 pm. The library is located at 210 Washington St. Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

Nov. 16, LAKEWOOD, CO: Wendy Swallow will speak at the Trollheim Lodge of the Sons of Norway at 6610 W. 14th Ave., just west of downtown Denver. 2 pm. Members of the general public are welcome to attend.

Nov. 17, DENVER, CO: Wendy Swallow will appear at the Tattered Cover Book Store (Historic LoDo) at 1628 16th St. in downtown Denver. Starts at 2 pm.

Nov. 19, RENO, NV: Wendy Swallow will talk about her search for Nora at the Daughters of Norway, Sonja Henie Lodge #29 at Odd Fellows Hall, 1300 Stardust St. The event, which begins at 7:30 pm, is for members of the lodge and their guests. Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

Dec. 12, WOODS HOLE, MA: Wendy Swallow will discuss her novel, Searching for Nora, between 9 am and 10 am (Eastern time) on “The Point,” award-winning public affairs program on NPR affiliate WCAI (90.1, 91.1, 94.3). This is the first broadcast interview about Searching for Nora. Update: You can stream a recording of Wendy’s interview with The Point host Mindy Todd at www.capeandislands.org/post/after-doll-s-house .

Dec. 14, ORLEANS, MA (CAPE COD): Wendy Swallow will discuss why, and how, she wrote a sequel novel to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and why Nora Helmer, Ibsen’s protagonist, is still relevant today. The event begins at 1 pm at Snow Library (in the Marion Craine Room), 67 Main Street. Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

Dec. 18, MEDFORD, NJ: Wendy Swallow will talk about Searching for Nora at the Medford Leas Retirement Center. The event starts at 2 pm. If interested in attending, please contact Wendy Swallow using this email form.

2020

Feb. 5-March 8, SALT LAKE CITY, UT: A Doll’s House, Part 2, will be staged by the Salt Lake Acting Company.

March 17-April 8, FORT MYERS, FL: A Doll’s House, Part 2, will be staged by the Florida Repertory Theatre.

Searching for Nora: A Novel After The Doll's House by Wendy Swallow

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Reviewers Praise Searching for Nora

“So much more than a sequel, Searching for Nora is a masterful tale that spans generations, continents, and the intertwined lives of two remarkable women. Lyrically told and meticulously researched, this unforgettable saga transports you from the fjords of Norway to the wide open plains of the American west. I couldn’t put it down.”

Joanne Lipman, author of That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together, No. 1 bestseller at The Washington Post

“Few narratives in Western literature have inspired more “what happened next?” speculations than Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, with its famous “door slam heard ’round the world.” Nora’s risky (and theatrically unprecedented) act of self-emancipation challenged paradigms of both dramatic and social structure, leaving us to wonder, with a deliberate absence of guidance or foreshadowing, about the next “act” in the play of her life. Wendy Swallow has done the hard work of imagining in four dimensions – across time and space, from Norway to America, and into the first quarter of the 20th century – how the echoes of that door slam might reverberate in the lives of several families, and in the intellectual and social currents of two continents. Her book is steeped in the Ibsen tradition of meticulous observation, careful design, and rich implication. Part family drama, part evocation of early feminism (both also notable Ibsen specialties), the work takes us on a satisfying and altogether believable journey of discovery as Nora’s story comes full circle across the generations.”

Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and Professor of Theater at George Mason University, co-founder of the American Ibsen Theater in Pittsburgh, and co-translator (with Brian Johnston) of five Ibsen plays

“For those who wondered what happened to Ibsen’s Nora Helmer after she slams the door on her marriage, comes this compelling and engaging novel. A fascinating social history of turn-of-the-century women in Norway and the American Midwest. Beautifully written, with characters that resonate long after you turn the last page.”

Beth Brophy, author of My Ex-Best Friend and Reunion

“Exquisitely crafted and brilliantly delivered. Wendy Swallow has brought us a passionate and cautionary tell that speaks to the life choices we all make – and how those decisions ripple through the generations, affecting us and those closest to us, in ways we never could have imagined. Searching for Nora forces two important questions – are the lives we’re living in alignment with our core values, and if not, what are we willing to do about it?”

News & Events

2019

2020

“I did it to leave Torvald in a stew of scandalous talk because it was what he feared most, more than he feared losing me.”

~ From Searching for Nora: After the Doll’s House

Reviewers Praise Searching for Nora

Joanne Lipman, author of That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together, No. 1 bestseller at The Washington Post

Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and Professor of Theater at George Mason University, co-founder of the American Ibsen Theater in Pittsburgh, and co-translator (with Brian Johnston) of five Ibsen plays

Beth Brophy, author of My Ex-Best Friend and Reunion

Steve Piacente, author of Bella, Bootlicker, Pretender, and Your New Fighting Stance: Good Enough Isn’t… and You Know It

Nora’s Journey, a Photo Slideshow

searchingfornora

Are You a Teacher?

Peavine Mountain Press