Special Guest Post by Imogen Martin, Author of Under a Gilded Sky

New from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Missouri, February 1874: The last thing struggling homesteader Ginny needs is a scandal on her hands. But when a badly injured drifter arrives at Snow Farm in desperate need of medical attention, Ginny’s kind nature and good upbringing means she has no choice but to treat his wounds and care for him until he’s back on his feet, no matter the danger he might pose.

My inspiration for Under a Gilded Sky

The inspiration for my debut novel Under a Gilded Sky came from many different places. My first draft – which I wrote in pencil on paper – focused on the story and the characters. Only when they were in place did I start deep research to make the book feel authentic.

The book opens in 1874 and is set in Missouri and Boston. I chose this date because I wanted the story to take place after the American Civil War. As a British writer, I did not think I could do justice to a time that was essentially about the freedom of slaves. But the War casts a shadow over my central characters Ginny and Lex.

I am fascinated by the American Gilded Age and 1874 is right at its beginning. Part of my interest stemmed from the library near where I live. It’s a Carnegie Library and there is a plaque to Andrew Carnegie. I knew of him as an American industrialist. Why did he pay for my local library? In fact he paid for thirty-five libraries in Wales, where I live, seventeen still open as libraries today. Only one has been demolished, probably down to each library having unique, high-quality architecture.

Inscription to Andrew Carnegie at Canton library. 

Author’s photo

I picked up an 800-page biography of Andrew Carnegie at my brother’s house, and found that he was born in poverty in Dunfermline. The family emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1848 when he was 12. Carnegie was clever, able and always on the lookout for the next step up. Eventually he made his money in steel production, becoming the richest man in the world at the beginning of the 20th century, and an icon of the Gilded Age.

Biography of Andrew Carnegie

.Author’s photo

There were other fabulously wealthy industrialists. Ginny’s rich and kind cousin Madelaine is determined to find her a wealthy husband and the family I draw on most is the Vanderbilts. Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) started with a ferry in New York. He was quick to see the possibility of the new railroads and invested heavily. The succeeding generations built on his foresight. Cornelius’s son, William Henry, grew the business, and by the time of my book they were one of the wealthiest families in the United States.

Daguerreotype of Cornelius Vanderbilt. 

United States Library of Congress

I am interested in the effect of railroads on rural communities during the nineteenth century. They seem to have a similar impact across different countries: Britain, the United States, Russia, India. In America, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in May 1869 meant the east and west coasts were linked for the first time.

Although the location is given a different name, my book is set in Pulaski County in Missouri. The first railroads in Missouri were laid in 1849 with just one line going west from St Louis. It was originally called the Pacific Line (revealing the ambitions of the early entrepreneurs) but was reorganised as the Missouri Pacific Railway after a debt crisis. Jay Gould, the famous financier and one of the Gilded Age ‘robber barons’ became majority owner in 1879. A railroad was laid through Pulaski County in 1869. Characters in my novel observe some of the changes this caused.

Map of railway lines. Extract from Missouri Pacific Railway System, 

(alabamamaps.ua.edu)

Something unexpected I discovered was how the Gilded Age came to have its name. The term was given by historians in the 1920s and comes from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today published in 1873. The novel was written by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. My hero Lex gives Ginny a copy of this book and he comments that it is new, and written by a native of Missouri.

I am delighted that my debut novel is being published by Storm Publishing. It is the culmination of many years’ writing, researching and editing. My second novel will be published in early 2024. Again it is set in the mid 19th century United States, but this time it is the story of the Oregon overlanders and takes place in 1846. Grace Sinclair defends herself when she is attacked by her landlord in the frontier town of Independence. 

Not sure if he’s dead or alive, she needs to get on the first wagon train West and get her younger brother to safety. Unfortunately, the army captain in charge of the train will not let an unmarried woman travel. So Grace has to invent a husband. As with Under a Gilded Sky, the story came first, and then the in-depth research.

I hope I give enough historical detail to make my readers feel transported to a different time and place – but not so much that they feel they are walking through a museum.

 Imogen Martin

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About the Author

Imogen Martin writes sweeping, historical fiction. Her first two novels are set in nineteenth century America. As a teenager, she took the Greyhound bus from San Francisco to New York. Over those three days of staring out of the window at the majestic mountains and endless flat plains, stories wound themselves into her head: tales of brooding, charismatic men captivated by independent women.
Since then, she has worked in a coffee-shop in Piccadilly, a famous bookstore, and a children’s home. She has run festivals, and turned a derelict housing block on one of the poorest estates in the UK into an award-winning arts centre. During 2020 Imogen was selected by Kate Nash Literary Agency as one of their BookCamp mentees, a mentorship programme designed to accelerate the careers of promising new writers. Married with two children, Imogen divides her time between Wales and Sardinia. Find out more at Imogene's website https://imogenmartinauthor.com  and find her on Facebook and Twitter @ImogenMartin9