These historic and modern books have Knoxville at the heart of the story | Know Your Knox

The death of Cormac McCarthy in June 2023 reminded many of the acclaimed writer's close ties to Knoxville, where several local landmarks are named in honor of his semi-autobiographical novel "Suttree." Published in 1979, the book was set in Knoxville during the 1950s and features such local landmarks as Gay Street and Market Square.

Living legend Nikki Giovanni, who celebrated her 80th birthday in 2023, has written a number of poems and other works about her childhood home in Knoxville.

And James Agee's renowned autobiographical novel "A Death in the Family" is set in Knoxville.

But beyond that uber-famous trifecta, what other authors have picked our city as the setting for their literary works?

Mysteries feature UT's Body Farm

The Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee, known as the Body Farm, has been featured in a number of mysteries, most famously in "The Body Farm," published in 1994 as part of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series. The Anthropological Research Facility, one of the world’s foremost centers of body decomposition research, is a crucial plot point in Scarpetta’s identification of the murderer.

Dr. William Bass, the founder of the Body Farm, has written a series set there with the help of journalist Jon Jefferson. The two men, writing under the pseudonym Jefferson Bass, created a crime fiction series featuring anthropologist Bill Brockton that is currently 12 novels strong.

Rick Yancey, who spent time in Knoxville working for the IRS before embarking on a highly successful writing career, created the Highly Effective Detective series about a bumbling PI based in Knoxville.

Literary icons of the 19th century

I spent a happy hour devouring a fascinating walking guide to downtown sites associated with well-known authors put together by the Knoxville History Project.

Ii didn't take me long after I moved to Knoxville to discover the "Secret Garden" that honors Frances Hodgson Burnett at the Knoxville Botanical Garden. Burnett, beloved by generations of children for her books "The Secret Garden" and "The Little Princess," lived in Knoxville for a number of years and began her literary career here. Her novel "In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim," published in 1899, is set in a barely disguised Knoxville.

One author I confess I had never heard of was George Washington Harris, a former riverboat pilot and onetime Knoxville postmaster. Harris created the character Sut Lovingood, the antihero of several nationally popular stories in the Civil War era. "Sut Lovingood’s Yarns" was published in 1867 and includes two Knoxville-based stories. The book was so popular that it has been credited as an influence on the work of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor and Mark Twain as one of the origins of frontier humor and the Southern Gothic style, according to local historian Jack Neely.

Knoxville reflected in modern times

Knoxville-born author David Madden worked at the Bijou Theatre during his teenage years, and the experience informed his nationally acclaimed 1974 novel "Bijou." Although set in a fictional city called “Cherokee,” some parts of town, especially the Bijou Theatre itself and Market Square, are described as they were in 1946.

Author Marianne Wiggins' 2003 novel, "Evidence of Things Unseen," was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Awards. Parts of the book, set at the dawn of the Atomic Age, take place in Knoxville and Oak Ridge.

I'll end with Jack Mauro, a little-known writer who wrote several collections of short stories about his time in Knoxville: "Gay Street" and "Beautiful Man."

Mauro, who ended up moving to New York City, wrote in the foreword to "Beautiful Man," "I keep my people and their dramas in Knoxville because there is no need to go anywhere else. If it is good and bad, promising and discouraging, it is all right here ... It is the only place in the world where I perceive people as most real, and dimensional."

Know Your Knox answers your burning questions about life in Knoxville. Want your question answered? Email [email protected]. 

Liz Kellar is a public safety reporter. Email [email protected]. Twitter @LizKellar.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Mysteries, short stories and famous novels that showcase Knoxville