Episode notes
In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful speaks with novelist Lee-Anne McAulay about her debut historical novel Echoes on a Fractal Line, a dual-timeline story set between present-day Scotland and the 1715 Jacobite Rising. Together, they explore how fiction can preserve the past, recover forgotten voices, and reveal the patterns that echo across generations.
Their conversation moves from the political tensions surrounding the Act of Union and the Jacobite cause to the emotional heart of Lee-Anne’s novel: women navigating loyalty, survival, friendship, and identity in moments of upheaval. They also discuss Alloa Tower as both a real historical site and a powerful imaginative setting, the mysteries that history leaves behind, and the way contemporary questions about national identity and memory still resonate in Scotland today
Lee-Anne McAulay is a novelist, former head teacher, and lifelong storyteller based in Central Scotland. In this episode, she shares how local history, archival research, and a deep connection to place shaped Echoes on a Fractal Line, as well as how her own path from teaching to publication informed her creative life.
History Through Fiction is a space for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe the past comes alive through story. Explore more episodes, discover historical novels, and learn more about the broader History Through Fiction community, workshops, and events at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.