Barbara Kingsolver

Biography

Barbara Kingsolver (born 1955) grew up in rural Kentucky and spent part of her childhood in the Congo (then Zaire) when her father, a physician, worked there. She has a background in biology and ecology — evident in the novel's meticulous rendering of the Congo's natural world. She is also a political activist; the novel's critique of American imperialism and CIA involvement in Congolese politics is not incidental but central to her project. The Poisonwood Bible took years to research and write, requiring extensive historical study of the Belgian Congo's independence, Lumumba's assassination, and Mobutu's rise. It was her breakthrough novel, selling millions of copies and becoming a Pulitzer finalist in 1999.

Barbara Kingsolver at a glance