Samantha Greene Woodruff's "The Lobotomist's Wife"

Samantha Greene Woodruff has a BA in history from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. She spent most of her career telling stories to executives at MTV Networks as the senior vice president of strategy and business development and, subsequently, audience research for the Nickelodeon Kids & Family Group. After leaving corporate life, she pursued her varied passions, teaching yoga, cooking, and taking classes at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. It was here that she combined her multifaceted background with her wild imagination and passion for history, reading, and writing.

Here Woodruff dreamcasts an adaptation of The Lobotomist’s Wife, her first historical fiction novel:

My protagonist, Ruth Emeraldine, is a woman before her time – a strong, independent female who happens to be beautiful but, for whom, looks are irrelevant. Ruth runs a mental hospital in the 1930s and has devoted her life to her patients. As I wrote her character, my inspiration was Katharine Hepburn. Like Ruth, Hepburn had a powerful presence that wasn’t overshadowed by her pin-up girl looks. She was the kind of woman who would be the first to wear pants when others were still in dresses, because they were simply more practical. I think the closest actress we have to Hepburn today is Cate Blanchett. Blanchett has a natural gravitas that balances with her beauty, elegance and intellect. I am not alone in seeing the parallel, Blanchett played Hepburn in the 2004 movie The Aviator, and I think she would be a perfect Ruth.

For Robert Apter, the lobotomist and Ruth’s husband, I would cast Edward Norton. Robert is a man who is not classically handsome but has an undeniable charisma. While he is intensely cerebral and passionate about his work, he is also a natural showman who added horrifying flourishes to his surgeries to make them more entertaining to audiences. He was arrogant but magnetic. It isn’t easy to walk that line between charm and demonism, but I think Norton could do it brilliantly.

For my secondary protagonist, the all-American 1950s housewife Margaret, I love the idea of Taylor Swift. On the surface, Margaret, a former-homecoming queen married to her high school sweetheart, seems like just another sweet and pretty face. She has three children and a lovely home in the suburbs – an idyllic life -- but she harbors secret darkness and pain. She is intelligent, but also so eager to please that she second guesses herself, and is willing to go to great lengths to fit in. Taylor Swift has that combination of innocence and depth that I think would really bring Margaret to life.

Finally, I’d love to see Alexander Skarsgård play Edward, Robert’s neurosurgical partner. Edward is dashingly handsome but unassuming. He is likable, quietly brilliant, and deferential to Robert even though he is the one with the surgical training. Edward is gentle and kind, with a midwestern sensibility and values, but also a stoic strength that, ultimately, enables him to stand up to his partner and mentor. Can’t you see Skarsgård doing that?

Visit Samantha Greene Woodruff's website.

--Marshal Zeringue