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

2025-04-04 · 17 min · 7 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ references Who was Harriet Tubman? book

0.61

evidence rules-v5
h 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 Conce
→ discusses Arts concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Arts
→ hosted by NPR company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: NPR
→ discusses Books concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Books

Entities found in this episode

concepts 3

mentioned Arts concept

0.50

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Arts
discusses Arts concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Arts
discusses Books concept

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Books

books 2

mentioned Who was Harriet Tubman? book

0.72

evidence rules-v5
h 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 Conce
references Who was Harriet Tubman? book

0.61

evidence rules-v5
h 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 Conce

companys 2

mentioned NPR company

0.70

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: NPR
hosted by NPR company

0.40

evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: NPR

Episode description as stored

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 . To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy