Ritu Mukerji: Writing a Feminist Take on the Historical Detective Story
Ritu Mukerji was born in Kolkata, India, and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. From a young age, she has been an avid reader of mysteries, from Golden Age crime fiction to police procedurals and the novels of PD James and Ruth Rendell.
She received a BA in history from Columbia University and a medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She completed residency training at the University of California, Davis and has been a practicing internist for 15 years.
She lives in Marin County, California, with her husband and three children. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
Ritu Mukerji (Photo credit: Alex Metzger)
In this post, Ritu discusses writing her historical novel about women doctors while herself working as a doctor, working through the process of titling the book, and more.
Name: Ritu Mukerji
Literary agent: Nicki Richesin
Book title: Murder by Degrees
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release date: October 17, 2023
Genre/category: Fiction
Elevator pitch for the book: For fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd, Murder by Degrees is a historical mystery set in 19th century Philadelphia, following a pioneering woman doctor as she investigates the disappearance of a young patient who is presumed dead.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I was deeply inspired by the history of Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. I had been a medical student in Philadelphia myself but knew little about this unique institution, one of the first medical schools for women in the US. I knew the college would be a perfect fictional setting for a mystery novel.
I am also an avid reader of mystery and crime fiction, and am particularly drawn to novels with a strong, independent woman as investigator. Some of my favorite series include characters as varied as Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone and Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry.
So writing this novel was a way to combine many interests. It is a medical mystery through the lens of a pioneering woman doctor, a feminist take on the detective story.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took about six years, from first idea to research and then to writing and revision. The structure of the book evolved over time, but the characters remained very much the same.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
As a debut author, I think the entire process was an education! It was fun to see the book take shape over time—I now have a deep appreciation for the attention to detail and care that goes into every step of bringing a book to life.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
There was some debate about the best title for the book. One of the themes woven through the novel is Victorian poetry; a diary filled with cryptic fragments of verse provides an important clue in the story.
The original title was an excerpt from a poem, and I felt strongly that that should be continued. Murder by Degrees proved to be a perfect fit. The line comes from Emily Dickinson—the poem is dark and haunting and speaks to many aspects of the novel.
Now I am so pleased with the result that I honestly cannot imagine the book by any other name!
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers will be immersed in an absorbing, historical mystery with many twists. The setting of Philadelphia 10 years after the Civil War and its importance as a medical city provided the intriguing “scaffolding” for the story. It was an interesting moment in 19th century medicine, on the cusp of antisepsis and anesthesia, long before most of the advances we know today.
And though this is a work of fiction, my wish is that readers will be as inspired I am by these trailblazing women doctors. Their real-life stories sparked my imagination, and their work is an important part of the history of medicine.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Be as consistent as you can in your writing routine. I know it is easier said than done!
I wrote this novel while working as a doctor, with three school age children at home, through the pandemic. Some days I could devote hours to writing, on others only a short time. But the more consistent I could be, if I sat down at the same time every day, the better the ideas flowed.