Overture to War: An American Opera Student’s Daring Life in Wartime Berlin with Author Janis Robinson Daly
Online For Authors PodcastShow Notes
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Janis Robinson Daly, author of the book Under Two Flags. Splitting her time between Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and snowbird destinations, a tablet becomes Janis Robinson Daly’s library and desk, packed for reading and writing, wherever she might land. Inspired by the discovery that an ancestor founded the Woman’s Medical College of PA in 1850, Daly wrote her first novel, The Unlocked Path, which celebrates pioneering women doctors at the turn of the 20th Century. Its sequel, The Path Beneath Her Feet, honors the work of the American Women’s Hospitals in rural America during the 1930s. Her third book with Black Rose is scheduled for a March 2026 release. Another historical fiction, Under Two Flags is a re-write and retelling of a memoir of a young Boston woman who travels to Berlin in 1916 to study opera. The original memoir, published in 1918, was ghostwritten by Daly's grandfather, Eliot H. Robinson, Sr.
Daly graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College, at the time, a women’s college. At Wheaton, she developed a fond appreciation of the supportive relationships established between students and a heightened awareness of female-centric issues. A presentation of how her genealogy research inspired her to begin writing has made Daly a sought-after speaker for book clubs, women’s groups, libraries, and writers’ groups.
Her annual literary citizenship program, #31titleswomeninhistory, has gained recognition from historical fiction authors and avid readers as an innovative way to celebrate Women's History Month in March.
In my book review, I stated Under Two Flags is a historical fiction by Janis Robinson Daly. And Josephine? She is a character you will want to meet! She is the daughter of US immigrants who embraced all things American. Her mother gave up a promising career as an opera singer and her father built a business from nothing. Josephine, having her mother's singing gift, believed she, too, might be an opera singer until her father's death changed everything. Now, as WWI erupts in Europe, Josephine is given a chance of a lifetime - to study opera in Germany at the same school her mother had been forced to leave.
As with most adventures, Josephine arrives wearing rose colored glasses, assuming the war would be a mere inconvenience. However, she quickly learns the war permeates every aspect of German life. And as an American, she was suspect - a privileged oddity at best and a potential spy at worst.
What happens when the US enters the war? When a German solider takes a fancy to Josephine? When one of Josephine's friends is accused of being a spy? When the cold and hunger leave her weak with anemia? When her teachers find her too American? When being Jewish clashes with food rations? When homesickness makes her rethink all of her choices? When going home is no longer a choice?
Under Two Flags is a fictionalized version of a real woman during WWI - and it's a story you won't want to miss.
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You can follow Author Janis Robinson Daly Website: https://janisrdaly.com/ FB: @JanisRobinsonDalyAuthor IG: @janisrdaly_writer
Purchase Under Two Flags on Amazon: Paperback: https://amzn.to/4qvihEK Ebook: https://amzn.to/3MbjEu9
Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor IG: @terimbrown_author X: @terimbrown1
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