| Charles Frazier | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 4 1950 Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Historical fiction |
| Debut works | Cold Mountain |
Charles Frazier (born November 4, 1950) is an award-winning American historical novelist. Frazier was born in Asheville, North Carolina, and graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1973. He earned an M.A. from Appalachian State University in the mid-1970s, and received his Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina in 1986. He currently raises horses on a farm near Raleigh, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Catherine, who teaches accounting, and their daughter Annie.
Career
His first novel, Cold Mountain (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997. ISBN 0-87113-679-1), traces the journey of Inman, a wounded deserter from the Confederate army near the end of the American Civil War. The work is rich in the culture and sensibilities of the North Carolina mountains and is based on local history and stories handed down by Frazier's father about Frazier's great-great-uncle William Pinkney Inman.[1]. Inman, who was from the area around Cold Mountain in western North Carolina, served in the Confederate Army from which he deserted after being wounded twice and is reputedly buried in a local cemetery.[2] The real Inman served as a private in Company F of the 25th North Carolina Infantry, and his regiment did participate in the fighting in the Siege of Petersburg, including the Battle of the Crater. The novel won the 1997 National Book Award and was adapted as a film of the same title by Anthony Minghella in 2003. Frazier's second novel Thirteen Moons was published in October 2006 by Random House, and traces the story of one man across a century of change in America. Also set in western North Carolina, the novel traces one white man's involvement with the Cherokee indians just before, during and after their removal to Oklahoma. It is a story of struggle and triumph against the emerging U.S. government's plan to remove native Cherokee people to Oklahoma. Based on the success of Cold Mountain, Frazier was offered an $8 million advance for Thirteen Moons.[3]
References
- ^ "Cold Mountain" diary, by Charles Frazier, July 9, 1997
- ^ PBS interview with Charles Frazier, November 20, 1997
- ^ Hot News for 'Cold Mountain' Fans Entertainment Weekly, Apr 18, 2006
