9 Novels Based On Extraordinary True Stories

9 Novels Based On Extraordinary True Stories

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but fiction can make the strange truth feel relatable and understandable. A gifted novelist can reveal the human, emotional heart of a story that on the face of it seems nothing more than freaky tabloid fodder. Take the case of Albert Dadas, who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in France in 1886 because he wouldn’t stop walking and struggled to recall his past or even his age. Writer Maud Casey penetrates Dadas’ story in her new novel The Man Who Walked Away, which we called “lyrical in its style and fascinating in its psychology” in a starred review. The novels on this week’s list transform the stories of an Icelandic servant convicted of an 1828 murder, the trial of serial killer Harry Powers and a real-life whodunit starring Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, among other odd true tales. For more from Kirkus, click here!

'THE MAN WHO WALKED AWAY' by Maud Casey

9 Novels Based On Extraordinary True Stories

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