History Through Fiction - The Podcast

Colin Mustful

History Through Fiction founder and editor Colin Mustful talks with historical novelists about their craft of weaving history and fiction to create engaging, historically detailed stories.

  1. Black Sunday and the Women of the Dust Bowl with Jann Alexander, Author of Unspoken

    4d ago

    Black Sunday and the Women of the Dust Bowl with Jann Alexander, Author of Unspoken

    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. Together, they explore how Alexander used years of research, oral histories, and visual archives to bring the Dust Bowl to life through fiction. The episode moves from the lived realities of families who stayed through drought and storm, to the emotional core of Ruby Lee and Willa Mae's story, to the environmental lessons of overfarming, soil loss, and the long shadow of the Ogallala Aquifer. It is a conversation about survival, memory, and the meaning of home when the land itself turns against you. Jann Alexander is an author, photographer, and artist whose work often centers on place, loss, and endurance. In Unspoken, the first novel in her Dust series, she draws on extensive research into Texas history to illuminate a lesser-known side of the 1930s Dust Bowl and the women and children whose lives were changed by it. History Through Fiction is a place for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe stories can deepen the way we understand the past. To explore more episodes, discover historical novels, and connect with the broader community, visit https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    30 min
  2. Local Honey and the Hidden Fault Lines of 1950s New England with Shawn P. McCarthy

    Jun 15

    Local Honey and the Hidden Fault Lines of 1950s New England with Shawn P. McCarthy

    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 prosperity. Together, Colin and Shawn explore why the “periods in between” can be some of the richest terrain for historical fiction. They discuss the world of Local Honey: displaced women trying to survive on the margins, a wounded veteran attempting to hold together a quiet life, and a town being remade by highways, suburban growth, and old resentments that refuse to stay buried. The conversation also traces how Hoovervilles, postwar emotional fallout, and the moral ambiguity of survival shaped the novel’s atmosphere and its central characters, Becky Bivens and Jim Yarrow. Shawn P. McCarthy is a Massachusetts-based author of fiction and nonfiction whose work often explores the landscapes, histories, and hidden tensions of New England. He is also the author of The Puzzle Box Chronicles and is involved with Dark Spark Press, where he champions historical storytelling and regional voices. History Through Fiction is a place for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe the past comes alive most powerfully through story. Explore more episodes, discover historical novels, and learn about workshops, events, and the wider community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    24 min
  3. Ray Welling on Byline for the Dead, the Battle of Toledo, and the Fight for Journalistic Truth

    Jun 8

    Ray Welling on Byline for the Dead, the Battle of Toledo, and the Fight for Journalistic Truth

    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 buried. The conversation moves from the economic desperation of Depression-era Toledo to the novel’s dual-timeline structure, which follows two journalists fifty years apart as they untangle corruption, violence, and institutional amnesia. Ray shares how oral histories, archival research, and his own memories of Toledo helped shape the story, while he and Colin reflect on labor history, Rust Belt decline, and why stories about truth-telling still feel urgently contemporary. Ray Welling is an Australian novelist and nonfiction author with a background in journalism, editing, publishing, and digital strategy. Originally from Toledo and now based in Australia, he brings both a reporter’s eye and a personal connection to the city at the center of the novel—making this episode especially rich in place, memory, and moral stakes. At History Through Fiction, we believe the past comes alive through story—through the novels that reimagine it, the writers who research it, and the readers who carry it forward. Explore more episodes, discover historical novels, and learn about workshops, events, and the wider community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    26 min
  4. Echoes on a Fractal Line: Lee-Anne McAulay on Scotland, the 1715 Jacobite Rising, and the Stories Women Carry

    Jun 1

    Echoes on a Fractal Line: Lee-Anne McAulay on Scotland, the 1715 Jacobite Rising, and the Stories Women Carry

    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 conversation moves from the political tensions surrounding the Act of Union and the Jacobite cause to the emotional heart of Lee-Anne’s novel: women navigating loyalty, survival, friendship, and identity in moments of upheaval. They also discuss Alloa Tower as both a real historical site and a powerful imaginative setting, the mysteries that history leaves behind, and the way contemporary questions about national identity and memory still resonate in Scotland today Lee-Anne McAulay is a novelist, former head teacher, and lifelong storyteller based in Central Scotland. In this episode, she shares how local history, archival research, and a deep connection to place shaped Echoes on a Fractal Line, as well as how her own path from teaching to publication informed her creative life. History Through Fiction is a space for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe the past comes alive through story. Explore more episodes, discover historical novels, and learn more about the broader History Through Fiction community, workshops, and events at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    25 min
  5. Joe Paone on The Baron’s Daughter: Forbidden Love and World War I Italy

    May 26

    Joe Paone on The Baron’s Daughter: Forbidden Love and World War I Italy

    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 emotional truth to moments of political upheaval. Together, they explore Angelina and Paolo’s cross-class love story, Italy’s uncertain path into war, and the tension between personal loyalty and larger ideological forces. Joe reflects on writing characters who felt deeply real to him, balancing historical research with emotional intimacy, and shaping a novel where romance, resistance, and questions of class all collide. Joe Paone is a history and government teacher in the Philadelphia suburbs and the author of The Baron’s Daughter and Michael and the Magic Christmas Mirror. Drawing on his Italian-American heritage, years of teaching, and a long fascination with World War I, he brings both personal connection and historical depth to a story rooted in love, loyalty, and survival. History Through Fiction is a home for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe the past comes alive through story. Explore more historical novels, discover workshops and events, and join the wider community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    29 min
  6. Brynn Barineau on Writing Jungle of Ashes and the Rise and Fall of Fordlandia

    May 18

    Brynn Barineau on Writing Jungle of Ashes and the Rise and Fall of Fordlandia

    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 misunderstanding, and the brutal realities of the rainforest. Brynn shares how her years living in Brazil first introduced her to this overlooked story and why she felt compelled to turn it into fiction. The conversation moves from the real history of Fordlandia to the craft of writing Jungle of Ashes, including her decision to humanize this vast historical failure through two young protagonists, Joanna and Rafael. Brynn and Colin also discuss the science behind the rubber plantation’s collapse, the emotional and political stakes of writing about cultural collision, and the way historical fiction can make readers want to keep digging into the past. They also talk about Brynn’s personal journey as a writer, teacher, mother, and independent author—covering everything from life in Brazil to the long road to publication, the validation of early reviews, and the creative struggle of making art while balancing work and family. The result is a rich conversation about history, storytelling, resilience, and the hidden costs of empire. History Through Fiction is more than a podcast—it’s a place for readers, writers, and lovers of historical storytelling to discover overlooked history through novels, conversations, workshops, and community. To explore more episodes, books, and events, visit https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    40 min
  7. A Harlem Wedding with Tiffany L. Warren

    Apr 6

    A Harlem Wedding with Tiffany L. Warren

    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 as the “princess of the Talented Tenth”: a young woman raised at the center of her father’s civil rights vision, expected to marry brilliantly and help uplift the race. Colin and Tiffany explore W.E.B. Du Bois’s philosophy of the Talented Tenth, his hopes for “Talented Tenth grandchildren,” and why he was so determined to arrange his daughter’s marriage to celebrated poet Countee Cullen. From there, the conversation opens up to the emotional heart of A Harlem Wedding: Yolande’s discovery that her marriage is not what it seems, her father’s relentless expectations, and the love she finds with bandleader Jimmie Lunceford—a man whose jazz career Du Bois dismisses even as it captures Yolande’s heart. Tiffany and Colin talk about the Harlem Renaissance as both glittering social scene and site of struggle, the tension between respectability politics and the city’s vibrant queer community, and the pressure of being asked to represent an entire race while still trying to figure out your own life. Along the way, Tiffany shares what it was like to walk the streets of Harlem in search of the places her characters lived and loved—from Salem United Methodist Church to the Savoy Ballroom and the Dark Tower—and how archival discoveries, like Yolande’s scrapbooks and their heartbreaking note “to be worthy” under her father’s photograph, helped her shape Yolande on the page. If you’re drawn to stories that braid together romance, family pressure, civil rights history, and the glittering energy of the Harlem Renaissance, this episode offers a vivid look at the true events behind A Harlem Wedding and the questions that continue to echo today. Discover more novels, author conversations, and community resources at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    30 min
  8. The Keeper of Lost Daughters: Veronica Leigh on Faith, Family, and Post‑War Poland

    Mar 30

    The Keeper of Lost Daughters: Veronica Leigh on Faith, Family, and Post‑War Poland

    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 own. Drawing on real histories of Jewish children placed with Christian families during the war, Veronica and Colin discuss the moral and emotional tangle that follows when survivors return to reclaim their children in a country where it is still dangerous to be Jewish. They talk about post‑1945 Poland—especially 1946—as a time marked by violence, antisemitism, and the rise of communist rule, and how that fraught backdrop shapes Lydia’s choices as a mother who has waited her whole life for a child. Veronica also shares how her own faith journey and research shaped the book. As a Protestant writer depicting both Catholic and Jewish worlds, she describes a deep dive into memoirs, theology, and religious history, and the persistent question that echoes through her work: Where is God in all of this? Together, she and Colin explore how fiction can hold both the darkness of the Holocaust and post‑war brutality alongside fragile threads of hope—family, love, and a faith that wrestles more than it explains. Along the way, Veronica talks about her long road to publication—decades of seeking an agent, the many rejections The Keeper of Lost Daughters received before finding a home with Read More Press, and the unexpected blessings and challenges of small‑press publishing. She also looks ahead to her forthcoming historical crime novel Eye for an Eye with Level Best Books, and reflects on balancing multiple genres, short fiction markets, and a sustainable daily writing routine. In keeping with the mission of History Through Fiction, this conversation weaves together careful historical research, ethical reflection, and emotionally resonant storytelling. If you’re drawn to World War II–era fiction that centers intimate lives and difficult questions—rather than just dates and battles—this episode offers a thoughtful and moving listen. Discover more historical novels, author interviews, and community resources at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

    19 min
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History Through Fiction founder and editor Colin Mustful talks with historical novelists about their craft of weaving history and fiction to create engaging, historically detailed stories.

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