Season 9, Episode 10 - Meagan Church
In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful speaks with with Meagan Church, author of "The Mad Wife." Meagan begins by reading a powerful excerpt from her novel, setting the stage for a deep dive into the story’s themes and historical context. The conversation explores the life of Lulu Mayfield, a 1950s housewife whose seemingly perfect suburban existence unravels as she confronts societal expectations, mental health struggles, and the mysterious new neighbor across the street.
About the Author
Meagan Church is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Mad Wife, The Girls We Sent Away, and The Last Carolina Girl. She writes emotionally-charged, thought-provoking, empathy-inducing stories that explore the complexity of human nature. Her historical fiction chronicles the plight and fight of unheard voices of the past. Meagan holds a B.A. in English from Indiana University and is an adjunct for Drexel University’s MFA in creative writing program. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a plethora of pets.
Behind the Smooth Facade, a Housewife's Truth Begins to Crack
In the pristine neighborhoods of 1950s suburbia, Lulu Mayfield seems to have it all—a charming husband, two perfect children, and a gleaming home where everything is in its place. But beneath her polished exterior simmers a quiet desperation. The endless routines and suffocating expectations of womanhood have left her hollow, haunted by who she might have been. When an alluring new neighbor moves in—her life seemingly picture-perfect yet disturbingly familiar—Lulu’s fascination spirals into obsession. As cracks spread through her carefully constructed reality, Lulu must confront the lies she’s been living and the dangerous truth about what it costs to be “the perfect wife.”
