History Through Fiction - The Podcast

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , Colin Mustful speaks with Jatinder Koharki, author of Against the Odds of Tradition , about a novel that begins with a woman fleeing death and unfolds against the upheaval of late colonial India. Listeners will discover how widowhood, forbidden love, national independence, and personal reinvention collide in a story that asks what freedom r...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , Colin Mustful sits down with Jackie Lapin, founder of The Historic Traveler , for a conversation about what happens when a love of historical fiction spills off the page and into the world. From historic cities and hidden landmarks to the novels that make them unforgettable, listeners will discover how books can become a doorway into travel...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , Colin Mustful speaks with author Jann Alexander about Unspoken , her Dust Bowl novel set in the Texas Panhandle. Through the terror of Black Sunday, the threat of dust pneumonia, and the wrenching separation of a mother and daughter, this conversation invites listeners into a history that feels both intimate and unsettlingly relevant. Toget...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , Colin Mustful speaks with Shawn P. McCarthy, author of Local Honey , a novel set in 1951 Massachusetts where postwar optimism collides with class division, lingering trauma, and the uneasy cost of change. It’s a thoughtful conversation about the America that emerged after World War II—and the people who never fully shared in its promised pr...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , Colin Mustful speaks with Ray Welling, author of Byline for the Dead , a historical mystery-thriller rooted in the 1934 Auto-Lite strike and the violent labor uprising known as the Battle of Toledo. Together, they explore how forgotten local history, investigative journalism, and fiction can recover truths that power would rather leave buri...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , Colin Mustful speaks with novelist Lee-Anne McAulay about her debut historical novel Echoes on a Fractal Line , a dual-timeline story set between present-day Scotland and the 1715 Jacobite Rising. Together, they explore how fiction can preserve the past, recover forgotten voices, and reveal the patterns that echo across generations. Their c...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , Colin Mustful speaks with Joe Paone, author of The Baron’s Daughter , about forbidden love, family duty, and the human cost of war in southern Italy on the eve of World War I. Listeners are invited into a conversation that moves from the olive groves of Calabria to the trenches of the Isonzo, revealing how historical fiction can bring emoti...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , host Colin Mustful speaks with Brynn Barineau, author of Jungle of Ashes , about the astonishing true history behind her novel: Henry Ford’s attempt to build a rubber empire in the Brazilian Amazon. Together, they explore Fordlandia as both historical spectacle and human tragedy—an ambitious industrial dream undone by arrogance, cultural mi...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , host Colin Mustful is joined by author Tiffany L. Warren to talk about A Harlem Wedding —her richly researched historical novel inspired by the real life of Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, and the most talked‑about wedding of 1928. Drawing on scrapbooks, letters, and archival research, Tiffany walks us through Yolande’s world a...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , host Colin Mustful talks with historical novelist Veronica Leigh , author of The Keeper of Lost Daughters , about a story born at the crossroads of war, memory, and faith. Set in wartime and post‑war Poland, the novel follows Lydia, a Christian woman who opens her door to find a Jewish baby on her doorstep—a child she comes to love as her o...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , host Colin Mustful welcomes award‑winning novelist Katherine Scott Crawford, author of The Miniaturist Assistant . Set between 2004 and 1804 Charleston, South Carolina, Katherine’s novel follows Gamble Vance, a recently divorced art conservator who restores tiny miniature portraits in a historic museum—and who begins to suspect that one of...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , host Colin Mustful sits down with Finnish‑Canadian author and book coach Liisa Kovala , creator of the Substack community Women Writing . Together they explore the idea of sisu —the Finnish spirit of grit and quiet determination—and how it shapes the lives and stories of women who keep writing through doubt, scarcity, and competing responsi...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast , host Colin Mustful sits down with Janet Rich Edwards, author of Canticle , a gripping historical novel set in late 13th-century Bruges. Janet shares her inspiration behind the story, rooted in the spiritual and political upheaval of the High Middle Ages, and how the burgeoning merchant class clashed with the powerful Roman Catholic Church....

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful interviews Cecil Beckett, winner of the 3rd Annual Short Story Contest and author of The Blood of Englishmen. The story delves into the life of the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, focusing on the final year of his life during World War I. Cecil shares his inspiration for the story, the unique challenges of early aviatio...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful sits down with Carol M. Cram, author of The Choir. Set in 1890s Victorian England, this compelling novel explores the lives of two estranged friends, Eliza Kingwill and Ruth, against the backdrop of a fictional mill town and the vibrant world of choir competitions. Carol shares the inspiration behind the story, rooted in h...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful talks with Mirta Ojito, author of Deeper Than the Ocean. Mirta shares the real-life shipwreck that inspired her novel and discusses the dual timelines of her story, following Catalina, an early 20th-century immigrant, and Mara, a modern journalist. The conversation explores themes of migration, family secrets, and the endu...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful talks with Loretta Ellsworth about her novel, The Jilted Countess. Inspired by a true story, the book follows a Hungarian countess who, after World War II, travels to Minnesota to marry a soldier—only to discover he has wed someone else. Facing deportation, she becomes the subject of a newspaper appeal and receives nearly...

In this episode of History Through Fiction, host Colin Mustful interviews Deepa Anappara, author of "The Last of Earth." Anappara discusses her historical novel set in 19th-century Tibet, exploring themes of colonialism, cartography, and identity through the perspectives of Balram, an Indian schoolteacher turned explorer, and Catherine, a determined female adventurer. The conversation delves into...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful interviews Lynn Cullen, author of "When We Were Brilliant." Cullen discusses her inspiration for the novel, focusing on the unique relationship between photographer Eve Arnold and Marilyn Monroe. The conversation explores Eve’s groundbreaking career, her empathetic approach to photography, and the challenges both women fac...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful interviews Gabriella Saab, author of The Star Society. Inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s early life, the novel follows Ada, a Dutch resistance survivor who reinvents herself in postwar America. As Ada’s twin sister, Ingrid, investigates communist influences in Hollywood, the sisters’ bond is tested by secrets and political intr...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful interviews Vanessa Riley, author of Fire, Sword, and Sea. Riley discusses the chaotic world of 17th-century Caribbean piracy, the challenges faced by women and Black pirates, and the research behind her heroine, Jacquotte Delahaye. Listeners will hear about the realities versus myths of piracy, the importance of telling un...

Season 10 of History Through Fiction: The Podcast is almost here! Thirteen brand-new weekly episodes begin Monday, January 12—each one bringing the past to life through extraordinary stories and unforgettable characters. This season, we sail the Caribbean with a legendary female pirate, follow sisters navigating the dangers of postwar Hollywood, uncover family secrets across oceans and centuries,...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful interviews author Karen Essex about her two-volume novel on Cleopatra. Essex reveals the real Cleopatra—an intelligent, multilingual ruler—contrasting her with the seductive figure from pop culture. She discusses her extensive research, including graduate studies and travel, and shares insights into the challenges of both...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful talks with Herb Williams-Dalgart, author of the novel "Jingle Boys." Set in Brooklyn during World War II, the story follows Wally Lipkin, a young man facing the draft and struggling with anxiety neurosis—a condition that could either send him to war or to a sanatorium. Herb discusses the inspiration behind Wally’s unique j...

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful talks with Wendy Holden, author of "The Teacher of Auschwitz." Holden shares the remarkable story of Freddie Hirsch, a Jewish youth leader who became a beacon of hope for children during the Holocaust. Through resilience, compassion, and courage, Hirsch fought to protect and inspire young lives in the darkest of times. Hol...