Sarah Jane Vowell (born December 27, 1969)[2] is an American historian,[3] author, journalist, essayist, social commentator and actress.

In 2005, Vowell served as a guest columnist for The New York Times during several weeks in July, briefly filling in for Maureen Dowd.

[17] Her book Assassination Vacation (2005) describes a road trip to tourist sites devoted to the murders of presidents Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield and William McKinley.

[18] Vowell's book, The Wordy Shipmates (2008), analyzes the settlement of the New England Puritans in America and their contributions to American history.

[22] In her Los Angeles Times review, Susan Salter Reynolds wrote that Vowell's "cleverness is gorgeously American: She collects facts and stores them like a nervous chipmunk, digesting them only for the sake of argument.

"[20] Allegra Goodman, writing in The Washington Post, describes the work as "a big gulp of a book, printed as an extended essay...

[23][24] In a review for The New York Times, Charles P. Pierce wrote, "Vowell wanders through the history of the American Revolution and its immediate aftermath, using Lafayette's involvement in the war as a map, and bringing us all along in her perambulations… and doing it with a wink.

"[23] NPR reviewer Colin Dwyer wrote, "It's awfully refreshing to see Vowell bring our founders down from their lofty pedestals.

[26][better source needed] In April 2006, Vowell served as the keynote speaker at the 27th Annual Kentucky Women Writers Conference.

[36] She provided commentary for the April 2006 episode "Murder at the Fair: The Assassination of President McKinley," one of ten in the History Channel miniseries 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America.

She retraced the path of the forced removal of the Cherokee from the southeastern United States to Oklahoma, known as the Trail of Tears, with her twin sister Amy.