Need something out of the ordinary? The heroine is an ornithologist and the hero is an architectural salvage dealer–have you seen that combo in a book before? Welcome Jocelyn to the Index!
 New York , New York City , 1920s , 1900-1930 (US Early American), Roaring Twenties , Scientist, Unusual Profession , Physical Handicaps , Illness , Green-Jocelyn |
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Elsa Reisner’s lifelong dream of working as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History is fading as the job begins to drain her passion. But fate takes an unexpected turn when she is assigned to catalog the bequest of a recently deceased patron whose Gothic country mansion holds secrets and treasures waiting to be discovered. As Elsa delves into her task, she forms an unlikely bond with the estate’s delightful gardener and her daughter, as well as an architectural salvage dealer who still bears scars from the Great War. Together, they embark on a thrilling treasure hunt for a missing relic intended to safeguard the servants’ futures before the estate is sold. At the same time, Elsa’s body seems to betray her with new symptoms from a childhood disease that isn’t through with her yet. With the brooding veteran and her handsome colleague joining the search, Elsa must navigate the tangled web of secrets and hidden motives along with the changing state of her health. As her deadline looms ever closer, will she be able to secure a new life for her friends before the estate slips from their grasp? |
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Others in this Series:
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Questions about Jocelyn’s Story
Were there any historical facts that you discovered in your research that made you change something in your story?
Yes! I didn’t realize when I first came up with the idea for this story that the eugenics movement was in full swing during this time period. Knowing that really helped shape the character arc for the protagonist.
What research did you have to look up to make your character’s professional decisions authentic?
For Elsa’s career as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History, one of the resources I used was a guide on how to skin and stuff birds, published by the AMNH right around the time my novel takes place. For Luke’s career as an architectural salvage dealer, I had a fascinating interview with a man who works with the period rooms in the Daughters of the American Revolution museum.
Did you stumble upon anything in your research for this book that you thought was strange or surprising?
All kinds of things. The most surprising was the true story of the Incubator Babies sideshow on Coney Island. At that time, hospitals didn’t have incubators so premature babies rarely survived. But parents who allowed their babies to benefit from the incubators in this sideshow often were able to take their babies home after they grew enough under nurses’ care there. People paid to see the incubator babies, which is really uncomfortable, but those babies had a much higher survival rate than preemies that didn’t have the opportunity to grow in an incubator.
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Questions about Jocelyn’s Reading
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What Christian Historical Novel did you reread last, and why did you reread it? The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen. I listened to it a second time because it is such a feel-good story, and I was also getting ready to read the next book in the series and wanted to refresh my memory on all the relational dynamics.
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What Christian Historical Novel in your To Be Read pile is begging you to make time to plop down with it right now? Joanna Davidson Politano’s The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple!
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