Historical Fiction: Remarkable Women and the Rich History of the South with Katherine Scott Crawford (E203)
Today on Bookish Flights, I’m joined by Katherine Scott Crawford, award-winning author of The Miniaturist’s Assistant and Keowee Valley, history enthusiast, and self-proclaimed recovering academic. An eleventh-generation Southerner, Katherine directs writing retreats at a remote mountain lodge in Western North Carolina, where she lives with her family and would much rather be in the woods with her dog than anywhere else. A former backpacking guide and adjunct professor, her writing has appeared in newspapers across the country and abroad. If you love historical fiction, this conversation is for you.
Episode Highlights:
The deep, layered history of the American South
Her novel The Miniaturist’s Assistant, set in Charleston and the research and imagination behind bringing 1804 and 2004 to life
Why historical fiction is the best form of time travel
Her writing process and the rhythms of a creative life
The idea that reading is a hobby you actively choose above all else
How living in Western North Carolina means you can’t “trip over a rock without tripping over history”
Katherine describes herself as a history nerd, and it shows in the best way. We talk about time as something mysterious and porous, how the past presses into the present, and how fiction allows us to experience that overlap in deeply human ways. Her biggest hope for readers? A truly transportive experience into both 1804 and 2004 Charleston.
Connect with Katherine:
Show Notes
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Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Black Wolf by Louise Penny
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May
Book Flight
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
The Lost Book of Eleanor Dareby Kimberly Brock
The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann by Virginia Pye
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