Leila Aboulela’s latest novel River Spirit (Saqi Books, March 2023) takes place amid the backdrop of the Mahdist Revolution in the 1880s and the Sudanese struggle for independence. The story, grounded in archival research and based on real characters and events, centers around Akuany, an orphan who later becomes enslaved, and her brother, who is taken in by a merchant family. The narrative shifts between several characters and perspectives as they navigate these turbulent years. Historian Marie Grace Brown, author of Khartoum at Night: Fashion and Body Politics in Imperial Sudan (Stanford University Press, 2017), spoke to Leila Aboulela about the process of bringing intimate and everyday histories to life. Their conversation took place on March 15, 2023 and has been edited for length and clarity.