The exotic and mysterious life of a 1930's Geisha is not the typical subject matter for a first novel from a Harvard-educated man from Tennessee. Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha was sparked by his interest in Japan and a series of interviews he did with a real geisha. Golden also has a Master's Degree in Japanese history from Columbia and has studied and worked in Japan. Memoirs of a Geisha tells the story of a young girl--sold and forced to leave her little sea-side village to live in a house where geisha's are trained. Arthur Golden told Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham the final version of Memoirs of a Geisha came after struggling with two dry rough drafts.