On the Bright Side

  For years, I have lived with a story that followed me everywhere - into libraries, archives, museums, and countless notebooks. What began as a curiosity about a forgotten woman of the Gilded Age eventually became a mission. Now, after years of research and writing, I find myself approaching the completion of the first draft of my novel about Ida Alice Flagler. For someone who loves research as much as I do, this is no small accomplishment. Give me a dusty archive, a box of old letters, or a forgotten newspaper clipping, and I am perfectly content. I have spent years chasing down fragments of Alice's life, traveling to places she lived, walking streets she once walked, and searching for the truth hidden beneath more than a century of myth and misinformation. Recently, while visiting New York's Hudson Valley, I found myself reflecting on that journey. Looking out at the Hudson River, visiting the historic homes and landscapes that shaped so many remarkable Americans, I was remi...