Novelist John Irving says he knew he was on track when he figured out how “Queen Esther” would end. Now he faced a new challenge: How the story began.

“Like all my novels, that’s the thing I see most clearly or I don’t begin,” Irving says on a recent video call from his home in Toronto. “A timeline begins that is instigated by the end.

“If that’s where it ends, and who these characters are, well, where does it begin? How old were they then?” he says. “I’m making my way back.”

“Queen Esther” is the 16th novel from author John Irving, whose previous books include “The Cider House Rules,” from which “Queen Esther” borrows a few characters, “The World According to Garp,” and “A Prayer for Owen Meany.” (Book jacket courtesy of Simon & Schuster)

“Queen Esther” is the 16th novel from aut

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