Before Patricia Cornwell became one of the world’s most successful crime novelists, she was a journalist covering crime stories and a technical writer at Virginia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Those experiences helped shape the forensic detail and psychological complexity that would become hallmarks of her bestselling Kay Scarpetta novels. A pioneer of forensic crime fiction – with more than 120 million books sold worldwide – Cornwell helped bring the science of criminal investigation into the mainstream, influencing a generation of crime writers and reshaping readers’ expectations of the genre.
But what does a crime novelist who has spent decades plumbing the depths of human darkness reach for when it’s time to revisit an old favorite?
For Cornwell, the answer ranges from classic literature to psychological thrillers, sporting wisdom, and even a beloved children’s fantasy. Sharing her favorite re-reads with The Week, she included a novel by an ancestor whose unflinching portrayal of slavery still resonates, a Thomas Harris thriller that influenced her own debut crime novel, and two Ernest Hemingway books she returns to for their enduring descriptions of a writer’s life. Some have shaped her approach to storytelling; others offer fresh insights with every reading. Here are six of Patricia Cornwell’s favorite books to read over and over again, in her own words.
Patricia Cornwell’s Reading List
“Stowe is an ancestor of mine, and I read this book very early on. I continue to be struck by her graphic descriptions of slavery at its cruelest; it’s no wonder the story had such a profound impact on the public. I feel that Harriet and I write about the same thing only very differently: the abuse of power.” -PC
“I used to carry this book with me to tennis tournaments, and all sorts of places, when I was in my teens. It reminded me of the importance of focusing: to watch the ball so carefully that you see the seams coming toward you. I try to do that with the essential things in my life, and most of all my writing.” -PC
“Published 25 years after Hemingway’s death, The Garden of Eden is one of my favorites of his novels. I read it several times a year. I love the way he describes a writer’s life. I can feel the places Hemingway takes us as his semi-autobiographical character sits before his window, overlooking the sea and opens his notebook to write about Africa.” -PC
“Simply one of the finest thrillers ever written. It influenced me considerably; when I was writing Postmortem, my first crime novel about medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, I studied the way Harris told his story and most of all his descriptions. I still read it now and then today.” -PC
“I love this magical, influential children’s story — the first of Baum’s 14 Oz novels —and most of all that it’s an endless source of metaphor.” -PC
“This delicious memoir describes Hemingway’s journey as a novelist while dishing on all sorts of luminaries that he knew along the way, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound. It is indeed a feast, told sparingly and unforgettably.” -PC
(via The Week; photo by Tony Luong)
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