Writer Julie Schumacher didn’t set out to create a trilogy out of the misadventures of Professor Jason Fitger, the protagonist in her earlier novels Dear Committee Members and The Shakespeare Requirement.
Schumacher noted in a recent What We're Reading interview that as she was preparing for a term abroad with her own students, she found herself wondering, "What would Fitger make of this experience?" (Hint: he’d hate it.)
So her new book The English Experience was born, the third book in the Dear Committee series. In this story, cranky and beleaguered English professor Jason Fitger is the only professor available to chaperone Payne University’s 3 week term abroad in England.
The trip is packed with a “sea of troubles” and a colorful crew of students, including one who erroneously believes he is headed for the Caribbean, a pair of unreconciled lovers, a set of undifferentiated twins, and one young woman who has never been away from her cat before.
"There are misadventures that are comic, but there are things that I hope will pierce the reader's heart a little bit."Julie Schumacher, author of "The English Experience"
The English Experience is a humorous read, but the story also has a lot of heart. "Humor and sadness go hand-in-hand," said Schumacher.
"These students are undergoing many things for the first time. There are misadventures that are comic, but there are things that I hope will pierce the reader's heart a little bit."
Schumacher, who is a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, is known for her satirical take on academia. She noted how complicated it is to write about your own job, but it's something that she has found a way to do successfully.
"I have always tended to take my own experience and change it, and twist it, and revise it until I feel I have a story. So there's some emotional truth at the core of what I've written," explained Schumacher.
You can find out more about Julie Schumacher and her other books on her website.
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