Fiction often has a factual background, but it may take an expert to spot it. Heidi Applegate has made a specialty of examining the art and artists behind works of historical fiction. For Village Voices she will analyze the art and architecture in Amor Towles' novel, Rules of Civility.

 

Dr. Applegate is an independent art historian. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and worked at the National Gallery of Art for 10 years. Her adjunct teaching experience includes a recent course on museum ethics for American University, and she offers a regular summer Art & Fiction series through the Smithsonian Associates.