The India we see in books, movies, and television feels like an exotic place – certainly, nothing like southeastern Wisconsin. But the India of Betsy Woodman’s novels might seem more familiar to a Wisconsinite, and at the same time, exotic to people living in that country today.
They’re set in a small Indian town in the 1960s – a town that has plenty in common with small towns here, and much of the world over.
Woodman is a New Hampshire native, but spent significant time in India in her youth. And while she is not the model for her protagonist, Jana Bibi – the setting is very much inspired by her own experience.
The latest novel in the series is called Emeralds Included, and Betsy Woodman stopped by the studio on her recent trip through Milwaukee.
