THE LIGHTKEEPER'S WIFE

Everything historical fiction should be: an ode to a simpler period and place,, while complicating issues that are relevant today – making and breaking gender and sexual norms.

In 19th century Cape Cod, Hannah Snow shouldn't even be in the water. Her husband, John, would be furious—it's his job to tend to Dangerfield Light. It's certainly not women's work, and his quick trips out of town don't give her permission to rush toward the tattered ships. But she does, and though she can't save everyone, William “Billy” Pike, is someone she can. He's still recuperating in her care when John's horse is found abandoned. Hannah invites Billy to stay as a hired hand—but soon discovers that he is not at all whom she thought he was. When everything holding her together falls apart, can Hannah learn how to save herself?

Sarah Anne Johnson is the author of three non-fiction books. Over the last ten years her interviews have appeared in The Writer's Chronicle, Glimmertrain Stories, Provincetown Arts, and The Writer, where she is a contributing editor. Her fiction has appeared in Other Voices, and she has received residencies in fiction from Jentel Artists' Residency Program and Vermont Studio Center.