Mary Anna Evans's "The Traitor Beside Her"

Mary Anna Evans is an award-winning author, a writing professor, and she holds degrees in physics and engineering, a background that, as it turns out, is ideal for writing her new series, the Justine Byrne series. Set in WWII-era New Orleans, the first book, The Physicists’ Daughter, introduces Justine Byrne, whom Mary Anna describes as “a little bit Rosie-the-Riveter and a little bit Bletchley Park codebreaker.” When Justine, the daughter of two physicists who taught her things girls weren’t expected to know in 1944, realizes that her boss isn’t telling her the truth about the work she does in her factory job, she draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.

Here Evans dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Traitor Beside Her, the second title in the Justine Byrne series:

Three of the four primary characters in The Traitor Beside Her are fairly straightforward to cast. The protagonist, Justine Byrne, is very young, only twenty-one, and the key characteristic that would drive a casting agent looking for the perfect Justine is her fierce intelligence. I describe her as small and thin with bright red hair, but the plot depends on none of these things. In fact, early in the book, she is directed by her boss to bleach her hair to a platinum blond. Justine is an undercover agent, so the most important thing about her appearance is that she be able to change it. I think that Hailee Steinfeld would do an excellent job with both Justine’s intelligence and the rather charming social awkwardness that can come from being blindingly intelligent.

Justine’s best friend Georgette Broussard, also twenty-one, comes from a rural background where education was hard to get, and she is only beginning to learn to let her natural intellect shine. She has a brash boldness that I think Florence Pugh would capture well.

Justine’s love interest, the mysterious and mononymous Paul, is a tall, dark, and handsome man whose secrets have secrets. Ethan Peck exudes that quality in his role as the young Mr. Spock in the Star Trek prequel Strange New Worlds, and I have a lifelong passion for his grandfather Gregory Peck that only a time machine could solve, so he would make an excellent Paul.

Jerry Jenkins is more difficult to cast than he should be. Jerry is a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair and works as a mechanic, and I feel strongly that the actor who plays him should be someone who uses a wheelchair. I have been keeping my eyes open for the right actor for Jerry, and I haven’t seen him yet. I hope that Hollywood’s casting agents are aware of, and cast frequently, actors who could do the role justice.

The supporting cast for The Traitor Beside Her would be key to any movie made from the book, as the plot revolves around the search for a traitor selling war secrets and the culprit must be among the small circle of people surrounding Justine at her code breaking job. Linda is a young woman with few priorities other than being pretty and attracting men. Hollywood actresses are not known for being ambitionless, but I think Elle Fanning could pull it off. Anya Taylor-Joy would be right for the bitter, icy Thelma. Nicholas Hoult has the dangerous edge that Ike needs, while Josh Hutcherson would do well as Ed, who might be hiding a dangerous edge of his own. Maya Hawke would be convincing as Sally, a brilliant woman with a sunshiny personality capable of hiding a lot. Kate Winslet’s performance as Mare of Easttown showed that she can pull off the middle-aged sullenness of the grieving Nora. And presiding over them all is Karl, an elderly man for whom I would cast John Lithgow. Karl has spent decades earning the trust of the American government, which is willing to ignore the fact that he is German, because he is just so damn good at what he does.

And last, there is the small but key role of Gloria, Justine’s godmother. Gloria came alone to America from Poland in the early twentieth century when she was fifteen, and she bears the psychological scars of that experience. I would love to see Meryl Streep use her Polish accent from Sophie’s Choice again as Gloria passes her hard-earned wisdom down to Justine.

Learn more about the author and her work at Mary Anna Evans's website.

My Book, The Movie: Strangers.

Q&A with Mary Anna Evans.

My Book, The Movie: The Physicists' Daughter.

Writers Read: Mary Anna Evans.

The Page 69 Test: The Traitor Beside Her.

--Marshal Zeringue