An Interview with Ruth Brown of Under
Ground
Ruth Brown is a small-town reporter who becomes an
amateur sleuth as a result of her sister’s murder in Under Fire. When clues point to England, she becomes one of the few
certified female war correspondents sent overseas to cover the war. The
adventure continues in Under Ground
when she stumbles on a twenty-year-old skeleton under her house. Let’s see what
she has to say:
LM:
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you started your journalistic career.
Ruth:
Thanks for having me. I’m front a tiny village in New Hampshire, very near Lake
Winnipesaukee in the central part of the state. I have an older brother Chip
who is serving in the Army, and my sister worked in the defense industry. I’ve
always scribbled down stories and in high school I became editor of the student
newspaper. During college, I submitted stories to Mr. Isaacs who runs the
paper, and he hired me after I graduated. I covered mostly social events until
getting my big break in covering the union negotiations at Coltrain Industries.
LM:
What is it like to be a war correspondent?
Ruth:
It’s quite an honor. Of the 2,000 reporters who received certification, there
are only 127 women who made the cut. Certification acts as kind of a contract
between the journalists and the military. We have to follow their rules and
submit our stories for censorship, and in exchange they shelter, feed, and
transport us and transmit our articles back home. I’m stationed in London which
feels a bit like a combat zone with all the bombings.
LM:
Most military leaders haven’t allowed the female correspondents allowed into
combat zones. How does that make you feel?
Ruth:
For me, I’m okay with that. There is enough to cover right here in London. But
for gals like Martha Gellhorn, Dickie Chapelle, and Margaret Bourke-White, it’s
not enough, so they find ways around the rules and manage to get themselves to
the front. There are other women who have traveled with troops into the Asian
and African theaters too.
LM:
Maybe you’re content in London because of a certain detective inspector?
Ruth:
(blushing): Maybe, but that’s all I’m going to say about that.
LM:
What is life like in England?
Ruth:
The British people are stalwart. They insist on trying to force normalcy in
their lives, so that Hitler’s attempts at terrorizing them are unsuccessful.
Women keep the households running as well as holding down jobs. Until the
Americans began sending food and supplies, Britain was struggling to feed her
citizens. Because the country is an island, a large percentage of their produce
used to be imported. They had to become self-sufficient which was challenging
in the face of having to manufacture war materiel and frankly, to just stay
alive. I’m impressed with these folks in so many ways.
LM:
What are some things that surprised you or gave you pause for thought?
Ruth:
When I arrived, most of the street and directional signs had been removed or painted over for
fear of invasion by Germany. The British didn’t want them to be able to find
places if they did manage to get onto the island. Also, the planning and effort
that has gone into saving national treasures such as artwork. I can’t say a lot
about it, but most of the artwork has gone into hiding and storage in unusual
places.
LM:
What else would you like readers to know?
Ruth: I’m
proud to be serving in this small way by keeping the people at home in America
informed, and I know the experience has changed me. I will never be the same
again.
________________________
It’s been six months since Ruth Brown followed clues
to England and discovered the identity of her sister’s killer. War continues to
rage as Ruth reports on food shortages, the black market, evacuation of
London’s children, and the bravery of the British people.
When a bombing raid destroys her home and unearths a
twenty-year-old skeleton in the cellar, her reporter’s senses tingle in
anticipation of solving another mystery. Unfortunately, the by-the-book
detective inspector assigned to the case is not interested in her theories. As
Ruth investigates the case on her own, she butts heads with the handsome
policeman.
Will she get to the bottom of the story before the
killer strikes again?
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