Anais' Annotations: “The Tilted World” by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

Historical fiction is a genre readers tend to love or hate. I struggle to be fully immersed in these books because I find that authors often go too heavy or too light with the research. Too much emphasis on the facts often leads to underdeveloped characters and plot lines. Too little historical background can be equally detrimental if readers can spot obvious flaws.  

All of these thoughts established, my most recent encounter with a historical fiction piece completely took me aback. “The Tilted World” (2013) is a historical fiction novel by author-couple Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly that strikes a beautiful balance between historical accounts and fictional storytelling. 

I feel like I am doing some injustice to the work by categorizing it only as historical fiction. The truth is that “The Tilted World” is a lot more than one thing– it is equal parts history, romance, mystery and crime drama. While such genre blending is more common in recent publications, it frequently flops. Some genres are just harder to put together than others. Franklin and Fennelly, on the other hand, do a wonderful job at allowing each part of the novel room to tell its story.  

In my opinion, that kind of pacing and character-driven storytelling is what makes all of the different genres work. 

Speaking of characters, I would be remiss if I did not mention the character building in this work. I am trying not to spoil the piece but let me just say that these characters are not what you are expecting. There is so much depth to each one, and the dynamics of every relationship are clearly very carefully crafted. Being from the South myself, I found that a lot of the folks throughout this story are just like the ones I grew up with, so it was very easy to immerse myself in the piece. 

I also appreciate how Franklin and Fennelly handle their portrayal of the South. From the characters to the cultures, it seems the authors took great care to be considerate of common stereotypes that tend to linger in unkind depictions of this place. Many Southern readers have grown tired of cruel jokes and off-putting archetypes as their main representations.  

“The Tilted World” instead relies on building up the story on its surrounding historical basis and making characters that readers can connect with. It is a piece that clearly focuses on its story, themes and characters rather than emphasizing popularized perspectives of the Southern lifestyle. 

If anyone is interested in learning more about Franklin and Fennelly, join the English department at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Apr. 17, 2026, in the Lamar P. Higgins Ballroom at Trojan Center. The author duo will be awarded the Hall-Waters Prize for Excellence in Southern Writing for both their collaborative and individual works.  

As for “The Tilted World,” it breaks my streak of judging historical fiction and has a great story to boot. I must give it a 10 out of 10.