Buzz
Not only Law & Order episodes draw from real-life stories. Many writers find their next great idea by watching the news, exploring documentaries, or delving into history books. Whether it’s dramatic hostage scenarios, chilling tales of serial killers, or historical cases of witchcraft, the novels on this list are all rooted in actual events.
1. The People in the Trees // Hanya Yanagihara
The cover of ‘The People in the Trees.’ | Anchor/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd (Mytour)For her 2013 debut novel, which explores the tale of a brilliant scientist uncovering the mystery of a jungle tribe with the secret to eternal life, Hanya Yanagihara drew inspiration from the real-life story of Daniel Carleton Gajdusek. Gajdusek studied kuru, a fatal brain disorder affecting New Guinea’s Fore people, linked to cannibalistic practices, in the late 1950s. His groundbreaking work, which included transmitting the disease to chimpanzees, earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976. Yanagihara shared with Vogue that she learned about Gajdusek through her father, who worked at the National Institutes of Health during the 1980s.
Gajdusek adopted up to 57 children, primarily boys, from Papua New Guinea and brought them to the U.S. to raise. As an adult, one of these boys accused Gajdusek of abuse, leading the scientist to accept a plea deal, plead guilty, and serve a year in prison. After his release, he left the United States.
“Gajdusek’s story captivated me,” Yanagihara remarked. “Here was a man of undeniable brilliance who also committed heinous acts. It’s tempting to label someone with a single word, but those labels can shift: if we call someone a genius and later a monster, does the genius label still hold? How do we measure greatness—by societal contributions, and are those contributions invalidated if they cause immense suffering? Or, as I often ponder, is it not so black and white?”
2. Moby-Dick // Herman Melville
The cover of ‘Moby-Dick.’ | Wordsworth Editions/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd (background)While penning Moby-Dick, Herman Melville drew inspiration from two true stories of whales. One involved Mocha Dick, a 70-foot white sperm whale known for attacking whaling boats, which had nearly 19 harpoons lodged in it by the time it was killed in the late 1830s. The other was the 85-foot sperm whale that struck and sank the whaling ship Essex in November 1820, stranding its crew in the Pacific Ocean with minimal supplies. They endured 89 days at sea, resorting to cannibalism to survive.
3. Intimacies // Katie Kitamura
The cover of ‘Intimacies.’ | Riverhead Books/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd (background)Katie Kitamura’s 2021 novel Intimacies, which follows a translator involved in the trial of a dictator at The Hague, was influenced by the real-life case of Charles Taylor, Liberia’s former president. Listening to his trial on the radio, Kitamura noted, “I felt a distinct sense of performance unfolding,” as she shared with The New York Times. To craft the novel, she traveled to The Hague and interviewed actual interpreters who had worked with war criminals.
4. Bel Canto // Ann Patchett
The cover of ‘Bel Canto.’ | Harper Perennial/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd (background)From December 1996 into 1997, Ann Patchett closely followed a dramatic hostage situation in Peru. Members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement stormed
Patchett loosely based her acclaimed 2001 novel Bel Canto on this event. In the story, terrorists in an unnamed South American country raid a party honoring a Japanese opera enthusiast, particularly targeting the opera singer performing there. Their goal is to capture the country’s president, but he is absent. As the standoff drags on for months, both the terrorists and hostages begin to lower their defenses—at least toward each other.
“A recurring theme in my novels is people brought together by chance who form a family or community,” Patchett explained to Gwen Ifill in 2002. “They create bonds. Watching this event on the news felt like seeing one of my own stories come to life. I was instantly drawn to it.”
Patchett revealed that “about 98 percent” of the book was fictional, including the addition of the opera singer. “The situation in Lima felt so dramatic, so operatic. The only thing missing was an opera star trapped with the others,” she said. “That’s the beauty of being a novelist rather than a journalist. If a story needs an opera singer, you just add one.”
5. The Island of Doctor Moreau // H.G. Wells
The cover of ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau.’ | Campbell Classics/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)H.G. Wells, a sci-fi writer with a zoology background, closely followed the UK controversy over vivisection—the practice of operating on live animals for scientific research. Simultaneously, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was gaining traction. Wells combined these themes in his 1897 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, a groundbreaking story about a scientist conducting gruesome experiments to create human-animal hybrids. Critics noted that the titular character resembled “a stereotype from anti-vivisectionist literature,” possibly inspired by David Ferrier, a Scottish neurologist who conducted brain experiments on monkeys and other animals. Ferrier faced trial under the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act for unauthorized experiments but was ultimately acquitted.
6. Bright Young Women // Jessica Knoll
The cover of ‘Bright Young Women.’ | S&S/Marysue Rucci Books/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)In her third novel, Bright Young Women, Jessica Knoll—known for Luckiest Woman Alive (2015) and The Favorite Sister (2018)—tackles the story of Ted Bundy, a serial killer who assaulted, raped, and killed numerous women between 1974 and 1978, often by feigning injury. Instead of centering on Bundy, Knoll focuses on the survivors of his crimes, exploring their lives in the aftermath and the lasting impact of his actions. Notably, she never mentions him by name.
Knoll explained to Vanity Fair that her inspiration came from watching Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which sparked her curiosity. Through research, she discovered that “much of what we believed about Ted Bundy—his intelligence, charm, and even academic prowess—had been greatly exaggerated,” she said. “I was also troubled by the narrative that his looks and charm lured victims, when evidence showed he often pretended to be injured to gain their trust.”
Interviews with witnesses revealed that Bundy’s victims were not charmed but rather irritated by him. “Even in 2023, I struggle to refuse someone asking for help,” Knoll told TIME. “Imagine women in the 1970s, raised to be polite and accommodating. It’s unfair to portray them as infatuated.” Before writing Bright Young Women, Knoll contacted Kathy Kleiner, one of Bundy’s survivors. “Kathy’s attitude was clear: don’t avoid the truth,” Knoll said. “She feels history has overlooked her, and it’s crucial for people to acknowledge what she and others endured.”
7. Inland // Téa Obreht
The cover of ‘Inland.’ | Random House/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)Téa Obreht found inspiration while listening to the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class, which featured an episode on the U.S. Army’s camel corps. This experiment aimed to use camels in America’s desert regions, supported by Mississippi Senator and future Confederate president Jefferson Davis, who secured $30,000 to import camels in 1856.
An Army blog post highlighted the camel corps’ success in Texas, noting that camels “required less food and water than mules, could cross rivers easily, and carried heavier loads.” Future Confederate General Robert E. Lee, then a lieutenant colonel, even utilized them for long-range missions. However, the program ended with the Civil War, with some camels sold and others escaping. Sightings of wild camels were reported as late as the 1940s.
Obreht incorporated the camel corps into her novel Inland, a supernatural tale set in the 1890s Arizona Territory. “It’s a fascinating yet overlooked part of Old West history,” she told the LA Review of Books. “I was captivated by the idea of these creatures existing amidst social and technological changes, hidden in the wilderness. It was an idea I couldn’t let go of.”
8. The Shadow King // Maaza Mengiste
The cover of ‘The Shadow King.’ | W W Norton & Company/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)Maaza Mengiste’s Booker Prize–nominated The Shadow King is set during Italy’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia and centers on a woman who joins the fight as a soldier. “Growing up, I heard tales of Ethiopia’s under-equipped military facing one of the world’s most advanced armies—a story that felt epic to me as a child,” Mengiste shared with the literary journal Brick. “Victory seemed impossible, yet we prevailed.” These stories became a source of strength after she moved to the U.S., helping her navigate challenges as a young Black immigrant in an unfamiliar environment.
Mengiste spent years researching Ethiopian and Italian history to write the novel, even discarding an early draft. “I wanted to ensure I had a comprehensive understanding of the history,” she explained to The New York Times. “I pushed myself to forget conventional writing rules and focus on what truly mattered to me.”
9. Murder on the Orient Express // Agatha Christie
The cover of ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’ | William Morrow Paperbacks/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)In Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, detective Hercule Poirot investigates the killing of a man aboard the luxurious train. The victim is revealed to be a kidnapper who abducted a toddler, extorted money from her parents, and ultimately led to the child’s death. The tragedy results in one parent dying during childbirth and the other taking their own life.
The novel’s plot and details were inspired by real events, particularly the 1932 kidnapping and death of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., the son of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh. The infant was taken from his crib, and the Lindberghs paid the ransom demanded in a note left behind. Tragically, the 20-month-old’s body was found two months later near their home.
10. The Lowland // Jhumpa Lahiri
The cover of ‘The Lowland.’ | Vintage/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)Jhumpa Lahiri, born in London, often visited India, her parents’ homeland. During one trip, she learned of a 1970s incident where two brothers involved in the radical Naxalite movement were executed near her grandparents’ home—witnessed by their family. “That scene, when described to me, was deeply unsettling and stayed with me,” Lahiri told NPR, “ultimately inspiring the book.”
Lahiri adapted the real-life event for her narrative. “It was the seed of the book,” she explained to Goodreads, “blending place, character, and event in unique ways. I reshaped it to fit my story.” Instead of both brothers being Naxalites, she focused on one, finding it more compelling. “I started with what little I knew and built from there,” she said.
11. A Song of Ice and Fire // George R.R. Martin
The cover of ‘A Game of Thrones.’ | Bantam/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)In A Game of Thrones, the first installment of his A Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin aimed to capture the harsh realities of medieval Europe. He drew significant inspiration from the Wars of the Roses, particularly from Thomas B. Costain’s works on the Plantagenets. “It’s classic history,” Martin told The Guardian. “Costain focuses on the drama—wars, assassinations, murders, plots, and betrayals—all the gripping details.”
Specific events in the series also have historical roots: The Red Wedding in A Storm of Swords was influenced by the Black Dinner of 1440, where a feast turned into a deadly trap, and the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, where soldiers betrayed their hosts. “No matter how dark my imagination gets, history often surpasses it,” Martin remarked in 2013.
12. Everyone Knows Your Mother Is A Witch // Rivka Galchen
The cover of ‘Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch.’ | Picador Paperbacks/Amazon (cover), Justin Dodd/Mytour (background)Johannes Kepler, renowned for his three laws of planetary motion, is celebrated as one of history’s greatest scientists. However, fewer know that his widowed mother, Katharina, was imprisoned in 1620 on witchcraft charges. Rivka Galchen, a Columbia professor and author of Atmospheric Disturbances (2008), discovered this story in Ulinka Rublack’s The Astronomer and the Witch. Galchen shared with Powell’s that she was “captivated by Katharina’s story. I abandoned my other projects to dive deeper into her life.”
Galchen based the testimonies in her book on actual historical records. “What struck me was the humanity in the depositions. For instance, the tailor’s testimony showed reluctance to condemn Katharina outright,” she explained to Electric Lit. “He admitted uncertainty and acknowledged his own suffering, saying, ‘Maybe, if we investigated further…’ It was a profoundly human moment.”
