News of the World author Paulette Jiles, 82, passes away

Indian Express

18-07-2025

Paulette Jiles, the Texan author whose historical novels brought the American frontier to life, has died at the age of 82, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Born in Salem, Missouri, and raised in small towns throughout the state, Jiles forged a literary career rooted in a deep understanding of American history and the complexities of the post–Civil War era.
Jiles published her first book, the short story collection Waterloo Express, in 1973. Over the following decades, she wrote several acclaimed novels, including Enemy Women (2002), Stormy Weather (2007), The Color of Lightning (2009), and Lighthouse Island (2013).
She achieved widespread recognition with her 2016 novel News of the World, a finalist for the National Book Award. The story follows Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a veteran who travels across Texas reading newspapers aloud for audiences. He is tasked with returning Johanna, a young orphan raised by the Kiowa, to her relatives in San Antonio.
In 2020, News of the World was adapted into a feature film directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks as Captain Kidd and German newcomer Helena Zengel as Johanna. The film garnered critical acclaim and four Academy Award nominations, including Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.
Jiles continued writing well into her later years. Her most recent novel, Chenneville, was published in 2023. The novel continued her exploration of the turbulent Reconstruction era. The novel follows Union soldier John Chenneville, who, after recovering from a traumatic head wound, returns home to discover his sister and her family have been murdered. Driven by grief and a thirst for justice, Chenneville embarks on a relentless pursuit of the killer, a man known as AJ Dodd, a former Union soldier and corrupt lawman. The novel traces Chenneville's harrowing journey through the fractured landscape of postwar America, his moral struggle and the tension between vengeance and redemption.
Jiles leaves behind a body of work that chronicles the human experience through war, loss, resilience, and hope. Her storytelling captured the grit and grace of American life in the 19th century and solidified her place as one of the most respected voices in historical fiction.