Susan G Mathis

The American Gilded Age

/ sandramervillehart

by Susan G. Mathis

Welcome back to Susan G. Mathis, friend and fellow author at Wild Heart Books. Libby’s Lighthouse is her latest   Thousand Islands Gilded Age story. I loved it! Thanks for joining us today, Susan!

The American Gilded Age was a time of rapid technical advances, industrialization, and thousands of new inventions from about 1870-1910. Mark Twain coined the term in his 1873 novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today that satirized the era of social problems that were masked by a layer of thin, gold gilding. It’s a fascinating time in history, especially in the Thousand Islands.

All of my books are set during the Thousand Islands Gilded Age, when the wealthy came and scooped up the islands and built lavish summer homes, mansions, and castles. It was an era of economic growth. Since wages were higher than Europe, massive immigration drew about twenty million to the U.S. shores.

Unfortunately, it was also a time of unequal distribution of wealth where the rich got richer and the poor working class suffered. Many young women worked as servants until they married, and that’s what my stories are about—those nameless, faithful women who cooked and cleaned and served tables for the rich and famous. These “downstairs” women had fascinating stories to tell, and I plan to tell many of them.

During the Gilded Age, America led the world in innovation. A half-million patents were issued for new inventions including hundreds by Thomas Edison, Westinghouse, and others. Thanks to inventions such as delivery of electric power, the world became lighter, safer, more convenient and comfortable, and all around better.

About Susan’s latest Thousand Islands Gilded Age story, Libby’s Lighthouse:

Elizabeth Montonna, daughter of the Tibbett’s Point Lighthouse keeper, finds a mysterious sailor with amnesia, his kindness and character steal a little more of her heart each day. But secrets haunt Libby and may change her life forever. When Owen is ship wrecked, he accepts the hospitality of the lighthouse keeper and his lovely daughter. His relationship with Libby turns into something more, but their budding romance can go no further until he uncovers his past. As Owen inches closer to discovering the secrets of his identity, will the revelations bring him closer to Libby or tear them apart forever?

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About Susan G Mathis:

Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than thirty times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has twelve in her fiction line including Libby’s Lighthouse. Find out more at www.SusanGMathis.com/fiction

The Thousand Islands

/ sandramervillehart

by Susan G Mathis

Welcome Susan G. Mathis, fellow author at Wild Heart Books, back to Historical Nibbles! Susan shares some historical background for her latest release, A Summer at Thousand Island House. Welcome back, Susan!

More than 1800 islands, known as The Thousand Islands, lay between New York state and Ontario, Canada, where Lake Ontario narrows and becomes the St. Lawrence River. Here the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River intersect to become the world’s largest inland navigation system. Huge freighters pass by tiny islands along the main channel and share the waterway with all kinds of boats including kayaks and canoes!

In 1872, George M. Pullman invited President Ulysses S. Grant to visit his small island during the reelection campaign, as well as several Civil War heroes including General Sheridan. When President Grant and his entourage came, the Thousand Islands became a national event. The press touted the Thousand Islands as THE place to summer for the rich and famous and common man alike.

In so doing—and thanks to excited journalists—he launched The Thousand Islands Gilded Age season of the rich and famous buying islands and lots along the mainland and building castles, mansions, and magnificent summer homes. Those islands, those homes have delightful, intriguing, and often poignant stories to tell. And I aim to tell a lot of those stories, including Katelyn’s Choice that tells the Pullman Island story and now, ten other stories including my latest, A Summer at Thousand Island House.

From 1872 until 1914 the Thousand Islands Gilded Age brought tens of thousands of visitors to the enchanting summer resort. Grand hotels popped up. The rich scooped up islands and built fancy mansions and castles they called cottages and hunting lodges. The middle class bought small parcels of land along the mainland and built simple cottages.

And tourism took off.

The railroad expanded to bring in tourists and landowners. Large side-paddle steamboats toured passengers around the islands, and distinguished visitors made it the summer resort to visit. They came from New York City, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and many other places.

Several of the amazing castles and beautiful summer homes you can still tour today including Boldt Castle and “The Towers” on Dark Island (now called Singer Castle) which is the setting for Devyn’s Dilemma, and many others.

About A Summer at Thousand Island House

By Susan G Mathis

She came to work with the children, not fall in love.

Part-nanny, part entertainer, Addison Bell has always had an enduring love for children. So what better way to spend her creative energy than to spend the summer nannying at the renowned Thousand Island House on Staple’s Island? As Addi thrives in her work, she attracts the attention of the recreation pavilion’s manager, Liam Donovan, as well as the handsome Navy Officer Lt. Worthington, a lighthouse inspector, hotel patron, and single father of mischievous little Jimmy.

But when Jimmy goes missing, Addi finds both her job and her reputation in danger. How can she calm the churning waters of Liam, Lt. Worthington, and the President, clear her name, and avoid becoming the scorn of the Thousand Islands community?

ABOUT SUSAN:

Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than twenty-five times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has ten in her fiction line including, The Fabric of Hope, Christmas Charity, Katelyn’s Choice, Devyn’s Dilemma, Peyton’s Promise, Sara’s Surprise, Reagan’s Reward, Colleen’s Confession, Rachel’s Reunion, Mary’s Moment andA Summer at Thousand Island House. Her book awards include two Illumination Book Awards, three American Fiction Awards, two Indie Excellence Book Awards, and four Literary Titan Book Awards. Reagan’s Reward is a Selah Awards finalist. Susan is also a published author of two premarital books, two children’s picture books, stories in a dozen compilations, and hundreds of published articles. Susan makes her home in Colorado Springs and enjoys traveling around the world but returns each summer to enjoy the Thousand Islands. Visit www.SusanGMathis.com/fiction for more.

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