Lynn Austin has written many historical fiction novels set across a variety of time periods. The Lumber Baron’s Wife takes readers to the Gilded Age, and what’s unique about the story for Lynn’s books is that there is also a storyline set during the present day.
In the following Q & A, Lynn talks about what inspired her to write this dual-timeline novel, how two of the heroines are connected across time, and what she hopes readers will take away after reading the book.
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What first sparked the idea for this dual-timeline story set in Michigan’s lumber era?
I live in Michigan, which is well-known for its lakes and parks and natural beauty. I happened to see a photograph of the devastation left behind after millions of acres of trees, hundreds of years old, were chopped down during the state’s lumbering boom in the 1870s. I wanted to learn more about this era of greed in my state’s history. I thought it would be fun to compare the lumber barons, who destroyed so much land, with modern-day conservationists who work to preserve and restore it.
You’ve written across many historical periods. What drew you to this particular frontier setting?
The setting in a Michigan lumbering town is based on a real city on Lake Michigan that prospered during this era, when much of the state was still a wilderness. I was fascinated by the contrast between thriving cities like New York, where Hannah and her husband came from, and the still-primitive conditions in parts of the United States where people were settling.
Hannah and Ashley live in very different worlds, yet their stories echo each other in powerful ways. What connects them at the heart level?
Much is different between Hannah’s life in 1873 and Ashley’s in the present day, but the things they care about are the same. They are both learning about marriage, and love, and the compromises that marriage entails. Both have made the move to Michigan because of their husband’s work, and are trying to adjust to their new, altered lives. The importance of friendship also connects them, especially as they wrestle with matters of faith. And home unites them and is important to them. They live in the same house but 150 years apart from each other.
How do you hope this story speaks to readers?
First, I always hope to give readers a satisfying story that makes them laugh, makes them cry, and makes them think. These are qualities I enjoy in the books I read. After that, I hope it will speak to readers about the partnerships and sacrifices in marriage. In a good marriage, each spouse encourages the other to grow and to pursue their God-given purpose. I also hope readers will reflect on the sanctity of life, and on the God who created us and loves us.
What did you like most about writing your novel, and why?
Because I usually write historical fiction, I really enjoyed writing the present-day storyline. It was a new challenge for me. And I loved looking for ways to tie the present day and historical storylines together.
The Lumber Baron’s Wife by Lynn Austin
When the young wife of a powerful lumber baron vanishes into the wilds of frontier Michigan, her friend is left to unravel the truth in this captivating dual-timeline novel from bestselling author Lynn Austin.
1873. After a devastating loss, Hannah Wagner never imagined she’d leave her comfortable home for the harsh, unfamiliar wilderness near Lake Michigan. But when Henry Abernathy—a friend of her husband, John—offers them a fresh start in a booming lumber town, where John’s skills as a doctor are sorely needed, Hannah reluctantly agrees. There, she meets Kate, Henry’s spirited, much younger wife. Kate’s sharp tongue and outsider status have made her unwelcome among the town’s elite, and when she begins confiding in Hannah, it’s clear her marriage is not what it seems . . . and that a secret from her past could destroy everything.
Present day. Ashley Gilbert never planned to settle in Michigan, but when her husband lands his dream job as a conservationist, she agrees to follow. While restoring their historic home—built in the nineteenth century for a doctor and his wife—Ashley becomes captivated by its past and its connection to the nearby Abernathy mansion, now being transformed into a museum. While volunteering with the restoration, she stumbles upon the unsolved mystery of Kate Abernathy’s disappearance. What begins as curiosity soon becomes a quest for the truth—one that will connect her to two women whose stories and struggles echo and inspire her own.
Lynn Austin has sold nearly two and a half million copies of her books worldwide. She has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Lynn and her husband have three grown children and four grandchildren. They are avid bicyclists and make their home in western Michigan, where they love exploring the many trails. Visit Lynn online and sign up for her monthly newsletter at lynnaustin.org.