This is the first part of a two-part interview focusing on the life and work of writer Francine Prose. Prose is the author of more than 20 books and works of non-fiction, including Blue Angel, A Changed Man, several young adult novels, and a controversial autobiography of Anne Frank. This first episode focuses on Prose's seminal works, leading up to her most recent novel, Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932. Prose reflects on the inspiration for her work, including topics of obsessive love, sexual harassment, gluttony, and various social trends and movements. The author also explains the historical events behind Lovers at the Chameleon Club, where she constructs "a strange, completely invented archive" based on the lives and events of real characters. Central among these is the protagonist, a transgendered woman who became a noted athlete and race car driver, and was recruited by the Nazis to torture suspects during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II.
