Q&A with Kate Winkler Dawson

 

 

 

Kate Winkler Dawson is the author of the new book The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne. Her other books include American Sherlock. She teaches journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, and is also a documentary producer and podcaster.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Sinners All Bow?

 

A: One of my listeners of my podcast, Tenfold More Wicked, emailed me about a case that she called “the haystack murder.” I searched for it and discovered the story of Sarah Maria Cornell.

 

I was horrified by Sarah’s story, frankly, and I’ve covered loads of historical true crime cases. She died alone on a desolate New England farm in the dead of winter in 1832 and then, months later, few people defended her character when her suspected killer stood trial.

 

Some of her harshest critics were other women. Sarah’s story felt like a violation of women today. It was truly the start of victim-shaming at criminal trials.

 

And then I discovered that Sarah’s most ardent defender was a poet, a woman from high society, who committed to writing a scathing nonfiction book to make sure Sarah received justice. The story really moved me.  

 

Q: What was it like to follow in the footsteps of that defender, 19th century writer Catharine Williams?

 

A: Oh, I felt very connected with Catharine because we felt a similar passion for Sarah’s case. Catharine was career-driven, and a mother who wanted to provide for her child. She was also proud and fallible, and I can be both of those things. She worked so hard on her book and I respect her diligence.  

 

Q: Why do you think The Scarlet Letter still intrigues people 175 years after its publication?

 

A: There are so many themes that resonate with people today: Victim-shaming, victim-blaming, and how women can break each other down, as well as perseverance.   

 

Q: The writer Dean Jobb said of the book, “Told with precision and compassion, this brilliant reinvestigation explodes myths and exposes prejudices to get to the bottom of a heinous crime and restore the victim's sullied reputation.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that description! And that was certainly my goal, to evaluate the evidence and shine a light on prejudices that are still present in our society.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m actually finishing up a fiction book, a mystery/thriller that leans into true crime but focuses on a forensic botanist. I love writing fiction—there’s such a freedom!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The Sinners All Bow is probably my favorite of my books—it’s been amazing to read the accounts of forensics in the 19th century, as well as digging into the victim advocacy that I wasn’t sure existed in the 1800s.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Kate Winkler Dawson.