Having been a William Faulkner fan myself for years, I couldn’t resist this NY Times article. Turns out the plots of many of Faulkner’s novels are based upon a particular slave owner’s diary, the ancestor of one of Faulkner’s neighbors. One of the characters based upon that slave owner is Thomas Sutpen, hero of Absalom, Absalom!, described as a man of “valor and strength but without pity or honor.” This novel of rape and incest and murder is based on fact. Truth and fiction closely intertwined, revealed by research.
To see the full story follow the link below: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/books/11faulkner.html?scp=2&sq=faulkner&st=cse