Graham Moore, 35, writes about a legal battle between inventors Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse in his novel The last Days of life, which is narrated by the lawyer protagonist, Paul Cravath. In this interview, Moore revels further about his writings and life.
Most people are familiar about the clash between Edison and Nikola Tesla but the arch nemeses in your book are Edison and Westinghouse.
I’d suggest that Tesla became a folk hero, of sorts, after his death. As his legend (and myth) grew, it outshone the legacy of people like Westinghouse, who weren’t quite as flashy in public. In my book, I portray the big rivalry as having been between Edison and Westinghouse, with Tesla swapping sides in the middle; I don’t think Edison ever loathed Tesla the way he loathed Westinghouse. In a way, maybe we all hate the people who are most like us — and Tesla was never quite like anyone.
Please tell us a little about Paul Cravath.
Paul Cravath was a brilliant young attorney who, at the astounding age of 26, only 18 months after graduating from school, landed his first real client: George Westinghouse. At the time Westinghouse had been sued by Thomas Edison for violating Edison’s patent on the light bulb — which put young Paul at the center of a billion dollar lawsuit. I chose to tell the story of this novel — the story of the conflict surrounding who invented the light bulb — from Paul’s perspective
The Sherlockian was about Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle and The Imitation Game about Alan Turing. Is it history that fascinates you or is it mystique that draws you inIJ
Honestly, sometimes I worry that I’m not that creative, so I always choose to write stories based on real events. What I’m able to uncover about these real people and their real stories seems so much more interesting than anything I could make up!
And what kind of research goes in your booksIJ
lots. For The last Days of Night, I looked at biographies, autobiographies, newspapers, magazines, scientific journals, scholarly articles, court transcripts — even census data. The book was written as a novel because even with all that research, there’s still a lot that we just can’t prove, or know definitively, one way or another. The book comes with a 10 page note at the end, which goes through every major story element in the book and explains what’s real, what’s imagined, and what are moments I think to be true but cannot prove.
You have spoken about your depression. How does that shape the writer in youIJ
I think I became a writer in order to connect with people; in order to feel less lonely. I tend to write about topics that at first glance might seem a bit esoteric — 19th century electrical science, or WWII mathematicians — and so the big creative project I invest in is trying to show readers how emotional and moving and identifiable these stories can be. I feel as if I get obsessed with these seemingly odd historical stories, and so whenever I write about them I’m trying to get the reader to fall in love with these people and their lives as much as I have.
How do you maintain a balance between screenwriting and writing a novelIJ
I feel very fortunate to be able to do so. They’re so different, as storytelling methods, and so in moving back and forth I get to work out different muscles. A screenplay is like a haiku — they’re so short and spare. The trick is to communicate as much as possible with as little ink as possible. In a novel, I have all this ink to play with, and I have the ability to go into a character’s head and really describe her thoughts and feelings, without the mediation of a camera and an actor.
What changes have you made in the screenplay of The last Days of NightIJ
You’ll have to see the movie to find out! The film is actually a bit more sprawling in its perspective, so I was able to incorporate a handful of scenes that I had always wanted to put into the book but hadn’t had a place for.
When you are not making films or writing a book, what other hobbies do you cultivateIJ
I like to jog. I find it helpful to clear my head, especially when I’m in the middle of writing something. Also, sometimes when I’m stuck while writing, I’ll go and spend an hour or two writing a song on my guitar. When I was younger I thought I wanted to be a professional musician, but I was never a skilled enough player. I’m very glad I seem to be a bit better at writing fiction!
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