Charles Frazier

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Charles Frazier
Born (1950-11-04) November 4, 1950 (age 64)
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Occupation Writer
Nationality American
Genre Historical fiction

Charles Frazier (born November 4, 1950) is an American historical novelist. He won the 1997 National Book Award for Fiction for Cold Mountain.[1]


Early life[edit]



Cold Mountain was his first novel, published in 1997 by Atlantic Monthly Press. It 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Cold Mountain won the 1997 U.S. National Book Award[1] and was adapted as a 2003 film of the same name by Anthony Minghella.

Frazier's second novel, Thirteen Moons, published in 2006, 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.[5]

Frazier's latest book, Nightwoods, takes place in the 20th century, although the setting is still the Appalachian Mountains.[6][7]

Personal life[edit]

He currently raises horses on a farm near Raleigh, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Katherine, who teaches accounting, and their daughter Annie.



    (With acceptance speech by Frazier and essay by Harold Schechter from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.)
  2. ^ "Cold Mountain" diary, by Charles Frazier, July 9, 1997?.
  3. ^ PBS interview with Charles Frazier, November 20, 1997
  4. ^ Peuser, Richard; Trevor Plante (2004). "Cold Mountain's Inman: Fact Versus Fiction". National Archives. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 
  5. ^ Hot News for 'Cold Mountain' Fans Entertainment Weekly, Apr 18, 2006.
  6. ^ Marshall, John (December 12, 2006). "Life after 'Cold Mountain'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2009-11-23. 
  7. ^ Burnside, John (October 14, 2011). "Nightwoods by Charles Frazier – review". John Burnside. The Guardian.

External links[edit]