Patricia Cornwell, novelist: Imagination saved me
6/23/202623 min
“I escaped into my imagination. That is what I did from the earliest time that I can remember. I was writing stories, and when the world was too difficult, I would just make up one of my own and I would spend my time there. That was a power that I developed out of survival instinct, but it's also made it possible for me to spend so much time alone writing books.” Jamie Coomarasamy speaks to Patricia Cornwell, one of the world’s best-selling crime writers, whose books have sold more than 120 million copies worldwide. She reflects on a childhood marked by trauma, instability and family mental illness, and the lasting impact those experiences have had on her life. Her imagination became a refuge during difficult years, shaping the stories and characters she would later create. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews coming from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and and author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Jamie Coomarasamy Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Patricia Cornwell. Credit: Getty)
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First 90 secondsJamie Coomarasamy· Host0:00
Hello, I'm James Kimari Asami, and this is The Interview from the BBC World Service, the best conversations coming out of the BBC. People shaping our world from all over the world. [upbeat music] I want to get freedom. I'd like that freedom.
Patricia Cornwell· Guest0:15
A gender equal world would be a better world for men, too. We need this ceasefire. We need healing. We need trust.
Jamie Coomarasamy· Host0:22
These companies don't really, they don't care what governments do. This is a war. The first thing that we want is the war to end. For this episode, I speak to Patricia Cornwell, one of the world's best-selling crime writers, whose books have sold more than 120 million copies worldwide. She reflects on a childhood marked by trauma, instability, and family mental illness. Patricia tells me how those experiences shaped her life and her writing, and how the events of her childhood would later influence the stories that made her famous.
Patricia Cornwell· Guest0:56
A lot of people, because I've written about crime, and I have all these tough characters, and Scarpetta's such a hero and all the rest of it, they, a lot of people wouldn't imagine that, that I myself was a victim of crime at the age of five. And, you know, went, even had a grand jury proceeding and everything that I still remember because of being molested by an area security guard. So I had a, a lot of things start very young with me that caused me to have a different perspective on life, I think, than a lot of people would have. And f- and fortunately, I've kept,