Why? Because I wanted to take liberties with certain kinds of locations and did not want to mess with actual Coney institutions while doing so.
The Anchor, just as one example, is very much inspired by Ruby’s Bar, a glorious dive bar on the boardwalk that lost its lease just weeks before I sat down to write this note. I adored Ruby’s. My husband and I were there on our first date, and celebrated our engagement there some months later. Its closing has been devastating to all who know and love Coney. I created the Anchor as a sort of stand-in because my characters’ relationships with the bar needed to be complex and, like the bar’s fate, entirely in my control.
The fact of the matter is that there are, in the world, many more qualified chroniclers of Coney Island history than me. Readers who want to know more will be entirely mesmerized by books including Charles Denson’s
Coney Island: Lost and Found
and
Coney Island: The People’s Playground
by Michael Immerso. There is also a riveting film about Coney Island in the PBS American Experience series. I highly recommend you seek out some of these sources.
One final note: I may have manipulated some details regarding the item linked to
Dreamland Social Club
’s “Bath” key. Interested parties can turn to Adam Green’s
New Yorker
article entitled “Deep” (April 11, 2005) for the whole story.
—TA
STEP RIGHT UP . . .
. . . and behold the amazing creatures who lent their extraordinary skills to the cause of the Dreamland Social Club!
Sara Zarr and Siobhan Vivian—two fire-breathing beauties who skillfully singed early drafts.
David Dunton—a veritable Human Blockhead, who gamely incorporates into his act whatever I dream up.
My husband, Nick, the Strong Man, for constant, tireless support.
Bob, the marvelous and mysterious nine-headed beast, whose miraculous feats defy categorization.
And Julie Strauss-Gabel, the Snake Charmer, who coaxed this story out of a very deep, very dark place.