Authors Interviewing Characters: Connie Hertzberg Mayo
The Sharp Edge of Mercy by Connie Hertzberg Mayo (Heliotrope Books, pub. date May 6, 2022), is about a nursing assistant in 1890 at the New York Cancer Hospital. It’s a beautifully written, gripping novel about social inequities, medical ethics, and the enduring challenges for women in healthcare and the workplace. Told by an indomitable and likable young heroine, it marks a superb return for the author, who debuted with the award-winning THE ISLAND OF WORTHY BOYS. This title comes with blurbs from Lynne Hinton, Crystal King, Kristin Harnisch, and more.
I’ve chosen for us to meet on a bench facing the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. This part of the park hasn’t changed much since Lillian Dolan was working at the nearby New York Cancer Hospital in 1890, so I figured it would set her at ease to be around something familiar.
Lillian is there before I arrive, and as I sit, I try to match her posture, but I know it won’t last. Let’s face it – without a corset, I will never be able to keep sitting up straight.
“Lillian, thank you for meeting with me.”
“I’m happy to do it,” she says politely. “Not every day do I get a chance to travel 130 years in the future. Though I’m not sure why you would want to talk with me – I was just a nursing assistant at the hospital. Almost everyone was above my station there.”
“It’s not really your job at the hospital that I’m interested in. I’d like to talk about your experience with Dr. Bauer.”
Lillian blushes and looks at the fountain, the water streaming down from the angel’s bronze feet. Somehow this makes her blush more and she turns back to me. “That’s behind me now. Just like my job there. I’ve moved on.”
“But your story, it’s important to tell.”
“Why would anyone want to hear that story? My mistakes are not entertainment for someone looking for a lurid tale!” Lillian takes a handkerchief from her pocket and starts twisting it in her hands. This interview is taking a wrong turn, and I hurry to redirect it.
“Wait. First of all, you shouldn’t look at what happened with Dr. Bauer as your ‘mistake’. You were eighteen, Lillian, and he was a grown man who knew what he was doing. Hell, he even did it before with other girls.” Lillian is slightly taken aback at my profanity but I press on. “And women are telling these stories now, not for cheap thrill entertainment, but so that men can’t just get away with this sort of thing.”
“What do you mean, telling their stories?” asks Lillian.
“In newspapers. In the courtroom.” I decide not to tell her about television or YouTube.
“Really.” Lillian gazes down at her hands as she turns this over in her mind. “And they are not ashamed?”
I think about this before I answer. “I imagine that some of them are ashamed, and that it is hard to say these things in public. But sometimes what motivated women to come forward was that they did not want those men to hurt other women.”
“I think about that a lot,” says Lillian. She dabs the corner of her eye with the handkerchief. “Dr. Bauer somehow knew what I needed to hear. I don’t know how he knew. It was instinctive. He knew that if the hospital’s top surgeon thought a lowly nursing assistant was smart, was worthy of conversation about ethical issues and medical practices, that he could do what he pleased.”
“But he didn’t, ultimately. Do what he pleased.” I paused. “You stood up to him. You told him the meetings at his home had to stop. That took a lot of courage.”
“I was terrified.” She laughs. “My knees were shaking. But he wasn’t satisfied anymore with just our conversations. He wanted… I couldn’t do that. I would rather risk my job than my virtue.” I was afraid she was going to twist that handkerchief in two. “In the end, he backed down from firing me.”
“But he threatened more than just firing you.” I see her hesitation. “Don’t worry, you can’t get in trouble here.”
She looks down at her lap. “Well, if we must discuss it, yes, I did something that was against the hospital rules. And… the law. But even so, it was the right thing to do. It was morally right.” She looks up and takes a big breath. “The law did not allow for humane treatment of the terminally ill. But I’m sure they’ve figured all that out here in the 21st century.”
“Um, sort of.” I don’t want to disappoint her with the news that we haven’t quite nailed it yet. “But the important thing is that Dr. Bauer didn’t force you to do anything unseemly because you threatened to tell the world what he really was. Maybe that will make him think twice about starting that up with another girl.”
“Yes, I suppose that might be true.” She smiled and sat up a little straighter, although I hadn’t thought that was possible. “These other women who are telling their stories. Do they feel a sense of solidarity in what they are doing?”
“Yes, I believe so,” I say. “It’s a movement, actually. Hashtag-Me-Too.”
Lillian looked at me quizzically. “What is a hashtag?”
—
CONNIE HERTZBERG MAYO grew up in Westchester County, New York, but moved to Massachusetts to get a Literature degree from Tufts University and never ended up leaving. Her first book, THE ISLAND OF WORTHY BOYS, (2015, She Writes Press) won the 2016 Gold Medal for Best Regional Fiction in the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Connie’s short story, “Little Breaks”, was published by Calyx Journal in 2017. Her latest novel, THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY, will be published by Heliotrope Books in May 2022. Connie works as a Systems Analyst and empty-nests with her husband and two feuding cats. Visit her online at conniemayo.com.
THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY
NEW YORK CITY, 1890: Lillian Dolan is optimistic about her new job at the New York Cancer Hospital after dreaming for years of becoming a nurse. But she struggles to fit in, and her only friend at the hospital is Jupiter, a Black man who runs the crematorium. When the confident Dr. Bauer arrives as the new surgeon and takes a shine to Lillian, she is thrilled to be noticed.
Lillian has been warned not to get too close to the patients, but Mrs. Sokolova draws her in, and Lillian wins praise from the nurses for making progress with a difficult patient. But when Mrs. Sokolova’s situation becomes dire, she puts Lillian in an impossible situation-all while Lillian slowly loses control of her relationship with Dr. Bauer. Her decision to help her patient throws her life into chaos, and Jupiter may be the only person who can help her with the choice before her: capitulate to Dr. Bauer’s demands or face possible arrest.
“Mayo’s novel not only offers a close look at health care at the turn of the 20th century, but also addresses the racial, class, and sexual tensions that existed alongside strict, bigoted Victorian-era standards of morality. Mayo brings her characters and settings to life with deft prose and careful research. Her descriptions of the crowded streets of New York are visceral and authentic…A compelling and diverse historical novel.”-Kirkus Reviews
“A timely novel that speaks of racism, economic disparities, and the role of the frontline healthcare workers in the hospital setting. Author Connie Hertzberg Mayo opens a captivating window into a bygone era that reminds us that as much as things change, some things stay the same. This is a beautifully written book you won’t put down until the last page.”
–NY Times Best Selling Author Lynne Hinton, author of The Beekeeper’s Wife and The View From Here
“THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY is a stunning tale of a woman caught between the ethics of the day and the truth of the human heart. Mayo writes with enormous eloquence, transporting the reader into the distant past in a manner that feels familiar and immersive. An absolutely riveting book!”
-Crystal King, author of Feast of Sorrow and The Chef’s Secret
“Rich in period detail, THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY is a deeply immersive look at a New York City hospital at the end of the 19th century. With her well-drawn characters and crisp prose, Hertzberg Mayo’s novel is a treat to read. I look forward to whatever she does next.”
-Stacey Murphy, author of the Amelia Matthew Mystery series
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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing
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