a fictional house inspired by Holleywood

Thanks to Lakeville Journal reporter Alexander Wilburn for delving into the history of the house that inspired my third novel The Latecomers. One of the things that made me fall in love with this house (even when it was falling apart) was the bookcase in the library, a floor-to-ceiling fruitwood with sliding glass doors. The glass was engraved 1860 and I’d often wonder what conversations took place in the very place I was standing, as Civil War brewed, what secrets could be held in its walls.

The Latecomers follows five generations of a Connecticut blueblood family and how they are changed forever by hiring an Irish immigrant girl as a housemaid in 1909. The story unfolds from a mysterious death and includes love, betrayals, old money, motherhood and 117 years of meticulously researched American history. The Latecomers comes out in November from Little, Brown, but you can pre-order a personalized copy here to arrive in your mailbox the day it's published, courtesy of Oblong Books & Music.  

If you're in NW CT, please join me at the book launch at The White Hart Inn in Salisbury on Tuesday, November 6 at 6 PM. Election Day! I'll be presenting The Latecomers with a Hidden History of 20th Century America slide show featuring surprises I discovered while researching the book.

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