Elizabeth has often been depicted as a weak character, a woman who changed her story, but my own vision of Elizabeth is of a strong woman who had to overcome what must have seemed like insuperable challenges in an epoch in which women were expected to conform to a very strict code of conduct.
Barbara Southard – 28 January 2025
The Back Flap
Elizabeth Tilton, a devout housewife, shares liberal ideals with her husband, Theodore Tilton, and their pastor and close friend Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, both influential reformers of the Reconstruction Era who promote suffrage for women and former slaves and advocate for the spiritual power of love rather than Calvinistic retribution.
Elizabeth is torn between admiration for her husband’s stand on women’s rights and resentment of his dominating ways at home. When Theodore justifies his extramarital affairs in terms of the free love doctrine that marriage should not restrict other genuine loves, she becomes closer to Henry, who admires her spiritual gifts—and eventually falls passionately in love with him.
Once passion for her pastor undermines the moral certainties of her generation, Elizabeth enters into uncharted emotional and ethical territory. Under what circumstances should she tell the truth? If she does, will she lose her children and her marriage? Will she destroy her own reputation and the career of the reverend who has done much good? Can a woman accustomed to following the leadership of men find her own path and define her own truth?
About the book
When did you start writing the book?
I started writing over a decade ago.
How long did it take you to write it?
I wrote my first draft in about six months. I was not happy with that first draft. Years later, I revised the book, which took another six months.
Where did you get the idea from?
The first seed of my historical novel was planted in discussions with graduate students while teaching US history at the University of Puerto Rico. I remember telling them that the Beecher-Tilton adultery trial caused as much sensation in 1875 as the impeachment of Bill Clinton for the alleged cover-up of sexual intimacies with Monica Lewinsky. A student said that there seemed to be more genuine affection between Elizabeth and Henry than between Bill and Monica. Someone else pointed out that neither woman seemed to want to push charges against her lover. I agreed. Ambitious male rivals of the reverend and the president pushed the cases forward, but the two men survived the challenges. A young woman shook her head. “Yeah, sure, the men survived, but what happened to Monica and Elizabeth?” These discussions with students inspired me to delve more deeply into historical sources in the hope of illuminating Elizabeth Tilton’s motivations and the unique challenges that she faced as the woman involved in the greatest sex scandal of the epoch.
My first attempt to come to grips with Elizabeth’s story was the preparation of a historical study on the impact of the gospel of love and free love doctrine on the position of women. I soon decided that the complexity of the feelings involved in this love triangle and in the power struggles that led to public scandal, would be better served in a novel.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
The story, told from the perspective of Elizabeth, switches from scenes when she is on her deathbed in 1897, and flashbacks (told in first person present tense) of the years of turmoil in her life in the 1860s and 1870s. At the beginning, I had difficulty fitting these scenes together, but about halfway the structure began to flow naturally and seamlessly. I later had to go back to the first half to make small adjustments.
What came easily?
While immersed in reading the testimony of the main characters in the church investigation and in the trial, as well as their lengthy letters to one another (no texts or email in those days!), I formed a clear picture of each personality, which made me feel that I knew what went on in their hearts and minds. Exploring their complex relationships through dialog came very easily to me.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
The characters are all based on historical records (the public trial and the church investigation transcripts, newspaper articles and personal letters) as well as the insights of historians who have analyzed the Beecher-Tilton scandal. Since Elizabeth was the only one of the three main characters who lacked a public platform (Beecher was the most famous preacher of the epoch and Theodore Tilton was a journalist), she was the most difficult to understand. Interpreting her character, her feelings and her motivations required considerable creative reimagining. Elizabeth has often been depicted as a weak character, a woman who changed her story, but my own vision of Elizabeth is of a strong woman who had to overcome what must have seemed like insuperable challenges in an epoch in which women were expected to conform to a very strict code of conduct.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
It’s hard to say exactly which books, among the many I have read, have most influenced me, but I would like to mention Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings. Her portrayal of Sarah Grimke, the southern white woman who became a prominent abolitionist, is based primarily on historical research. Another important character, Hetty, the slave girl given to Sarah as a birthday present, had to be largely imagined because so few historical records give clues to the feelings of young slave girls. The author uses historical records in combination with her own creative insights into what life must have been like for those whose voices were stilled. I love historical fiction that restores the lost voices of those who did not occupy positions of power.
Do you have a target reader?
I hope my book appeals to lovers of historical fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, and readers interested in social history, particularly the history of individuals who belonged to sidelined groups.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I do almost all my writing in the morning after eating a snack, drinking coffee and taking a nature walk. I know some writers who talk about missing the old-fashioned way of writing with pen and paper, but I love working on a computer because I can change a sentence or the sequence in a dialog so easily.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
While reading historical sources, I often took random notes about characters and their relationships, which I later organized under the name of each character. Then I made a timeline with the most important events that impacted Elizabeth’s life. Finally, I created an outline, a dated list of scenes with a paragraph or two describing what could be emphasized in each scene. I didn’t always strictly follow the outline because some new inspiration came while writing, but the outline was helpful.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I do both. I reread each scene and make changes, and then edit the whole manuscript more than once.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Yes, I hired a professional to do a structural edit. I should also note that I belong to a writer’s group, and we go over each other’s work, chapter by chapter. Both the professional editor and my fellow writers were very helpful, and their criticisms and suggestions often coincided.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No, I like complete quiet, except for birds chirping, while I write.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Yes.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I submitted to various agents. Some negatives were polite, but the few sentences they wrote to me were obviously what they wrote to everyone. Several replies were personal and very complimentary about my novel but said that they didn’t have the marketing resources to make a success of the book. At that point I decided to investigate indie publishers.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
The book cover was prepared by my publisher in consultation with me.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I hired a publicist.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
At this point, I’m still too inexperienced to give advice.
About You
Where did you grow up?
New York City
Where do you live now?
Puerto Rico
What would you like readers to know about you?
I grew up in New York City and studied at the University of Hawaii where I earned a PhD in History. I taught history at the University of Puerto Rico and served as Chairperson of the History Department. I wrote a book on women’s history of India and published numerous articles in history journals. I am the author of The Pinch of the Crab, a collection of short stories set in Puerto Rico, exploring social conflicts of island life, mostly from the perspective of women and girls. In Unruly Human Hearts, I once again explore social conflicts from the point of view of the woman involved, but in a different place and a different epoch. I have also been active in raising funds for the Shonali Choudhury Fund of the Community Foundation of Puerto Rico, helping local community organizations working to protect women from domestic violence. I do this work in honor of my daughter, a public health professor who died of a brain tumor.
What are you working on now?
A memoir about the last years with my daughter titled Uneven Cobblestones: Walking with My Daughter on Her Last Journey.
End of Interview:
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