Lawyers
are not noted for their passion, ethics, or morals. But this is the stuff of David
Baldacci’s novels. Can you imagine the public law library as the birthplace of
an exciting adventure story with characters inspired by real-life political
figures? Noted Virginia author and lawyer David Baldacci did, as he shared
during his “Researching Law and Justice in a Novel Way” lecture at the Library
of Virginia during its exhibit "You Have No Right: Law and Justice in
Virginia".
His passion for libraries and reading
translated into one of his best-selling fictions where the library is the scene
of a murder. A law library like ours supplied
Baldacci with a plot in the form of a real legal case reported in the law
books. Indeed, Baldacci, a Richmond
native, compared a trial attorney to a storyteller, and promoted libraries as great
places to research novels. Baldacci’s novels not only involve murders by various techniques, but geopolitics, and modern
controversies of constitutional rights and responsibilities, such as the
government’s use of drones or rights of privacy and security. He emphasized the
importance of fiction as an arena for debating important moral and ethical
issues of today. Richmond public
Library has an impressive collection of Baldacci novels.
As a
writer and retired lawyer myself, I was fascinated by Baldacci's passion for adult literacy. He
and his wife co-founded the Wish You Well Foundation to fight illiteracy. He
was praised by Alison
Bonaguro in her 2012 Virginia
Living article occasioned by his receipt of the National Literacy Leadership Award
from the National Coalition for Literacy. http://www.virginialiving.com/arts-events/david-baldacci/
As a storyteller, Baldacci treated
us to the true anecdotes about the writing of several of his books. For
instance, he researched Wish You Well
at the Library of Virginia here in Richmond. Author of children’s books as well as short
stories, he advised aspiring writers to just tell the story—don’t worry about
what genre it is. More importantly, like Baldacci, writers should be concerned
with making sure that readers think about the moral and ethical dilemmas of the
characters, and what constitutes the truth. To learn more about Baldacci, visit
his website at http://davidbaldacci.com/
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