Introduction

2025 IPPY Awards Silver Medal Winner in Historical Fiction

2025 American Fiction Award finalist for Literary Fiction

A tale of faith, passion, idealism, and betrayal, perfect for book clubs, fans of Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings, and those fascinated by love triangles, contradictions between public images and private lives, and the limitations faced by women in the nineteenth century.

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?

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Excerpt

January 1868
My steps feel light as I climb the stairs after bidding Theo good night. How good it is to feel a renewal of energy, my body once more returning to health. It is very cold upstairs, but I linger for a minute at the window. There is snow on the sill, and the pane feels like ice to my fingers. Outside the half-moon has broken through the clouds, illuminating the wintry landscape. The limbs of the dark trees are etched with glimmering white snow clinging to their branches. The neighbor’s windows still glow with a soft light, but I leave the candle next to my bed unlit so as to better enjoy the beauty of the night God has created. Mrs. Mitchell, the nurse, enters with my little Paul all bundled up. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author:

1. What religious beliefs did Elizabeth share with Henry, and what emotional support did he provide that created a deep bond between them?

2. What aspects of her husband Theodore’s character did Elizabeth find admirable and what aspects alienated her affections?

3. What were the main concepts of the doctrine of Free Love espoused by Henry, Theodore and Elizabeth at some point in their lives?

4. How did the Free Love doctrine of the 19th century resemble the concept of Open Marriage advance in the second half of the 20th century and differ from the more recent concept of polyamory?

5. What role did the suffragist leaders, Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull, play in Elizabeth’s life? How did Elizabeth influence Anthony’s ideas about how to win support for women’s suffrage?

6. Why did Bessie give testimony at the trial that favored Elizabeth and hurt Theodore’s case?

7. Why did Elizabeth admit publicly that she had lived a lie for several years after the trial? Why did she refuse to see Theodore when he came to visit after her public admission that she lied?

8. How did Elizabeth reorder her social life and achieve financial independence?

9. Is the double standard as strong today as it was during Elizabeth’s lifetime? Are there any present-day social tendencies that could strengthen the double standard?

Weblinks

»	Author's website
»	Kirkus Review
»	Novels Alive blog book review
»	Author Q&A

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