Authors of two new novels draw inspiration from history in wildly different ways

NPR's Book of the Day

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

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Summary

Today on the show, we hear from authors who were inspired by history in wildly different ways. First, when Emma Donoghue encountered a famous photo of the 1895 Montparnasse derailment, she says she couldn't believe no one had written a novel about it. Donoghue's The Paris Express imagines what life was like for passengers on the old-fashioned steam locomotive. In today's episode, she talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the extensive historical research she conducted in order to write the book. Then, Bob the Drag Queen has called Harriet Tubman "the first Black superhero." In Bob's debut novel Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, Tubman returns to continue her work as an abolitionist through hip-hop. In today's episode, Bob speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the idea of freedom, Tubman's military service, and a recent appearance on The Traitors.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong, and today we have two wildly different ways novelists can use history to inspire their writing. In a bit, we'll hear about a book where Harriet Tubman comes back to life to start a career as a rapper. But first, the author Emma Donah, is on the pod talking about her novel, The Paris Express.
0:23.9	It's inspired by a famous photograph from 1895.
0:27.4	And in this interview with M.P.R. Steve Inskeep, Donahoo talks about doing a massive amount
0:32.4	of research for this book, because, as she says, facts are often more amazingly strange than anything she could think
0:39.8	up. That's ahead. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:46.7	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.
0:53.3	NPR reporters on the ground bring you
0:55.1	stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:00.9	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:05.9	A famous photo from 1895 is the basis for many posters in the occasional social media meme.
1:12.6	It shows an old-fashioned steam locomotive that couldn't stop, crashed all the way through a railroad terminal, and tumbled out onto the street on the far side.
1:21.6	The novelist Emma Donahoo saw that photo.
1:24.6	Her earlier novels include Room, which is the story of a mother and child trapped
1:29.0	in a room, which became a film. Now, Donna Hu's novel, The Paris Express, tries to imagine what
1:35.0	life was like for travelers on that train in 1895. An express train set off from Granville on the
1:42.7	Normandy coast and headed straight for Paris.
1:45.3	It was only meant to stop four times along the route and it was meant to get in by four o'clock.
1:50.0	And it all went horribly wrong, Steve.
1:53.0	There were some important guests on the train.
1:55.5	You know, VIPs, there were three members of parliament.
1:57.6	And one of them asked, could the train possibly stop near his country
2:01.3	house for his carriage to be put on? And that delayed the train by 10 minutes, which was enough
	...

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