Mollie Barnes, author of Paper Heroines, featured on SCETV's Books by the River

July 9, 2026 | by uscpress

Mollie Barnes joins Holly Jackson on Books by the River for a conversation about her new book, Paper Heroines: Women Writers in Conversation and Community Across the Sea Islands, 1838-1902.

In Paper Heroines, Barnes explores the relationships between women who lived in the South Carolina Lowcountry during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. "In history women often appear as footnotes in the lives of men," said Barnes. By studying their diaries, Barnes was able to write about the complexity and nuance of their everyday lives. Featured women include Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor, Charlotte Forten, the first Black teacher at Penn School, Laura Matilda Town, Penn School founder, Sarah Hopkins Bradford co-writer of Harriet Tubman’s first biography, and more.

Watch the full episode on pbs.org.