On Agate Hill
Wednesday, September 20 2006
by
Lee Smith's 12th novel is her first foray into historical fiction. "On Agate Hill" (Algonquin/2006) follows the life of the spirited orphan Molly Petree who calls herself a "refugee girl." We meet her on her family's ruined plantation in North Carolina and follow her to boarding school and motherhood in the mountains. Host Frank Stasio speaks with Lee Smith, North Carolina's most beloved novelist, about her new book, her devotion to teaching and the painful personal loss that set free her imagination and determination.
