Innocents at Home: A Novel by Linda Ulleseit

Innocents at Home: A Novel by Linda Ulleseit

A five-month voyage to the Holy Land in 1867 led Mark Twain to write his novel Innocents

Abroad. But what happened to those innocents after they returned to New York? Innocents at Home tells the tale of Nina Larrowe and Emma Beach, two of Twain’s shipmates.

Nina Larrowe anticipates resuming her place in New York society, but Twain’s careless remarks about her behavior ostracize her and force her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew. Nina becomes an actress and embarks on a life she never could have imagined. After a series of disappointments, Nina must rise from the ashes once again to craft a life she can take pride in.

The daughter of a newspaper magnate, Emma Beach falls head-long in love with the flirtatious Sam on her trip to the Holy Land. Her dreams are proven to be fantasies when Sam marries another. She is content to spend her days painting and taking care of others…until she realizes there could be more to the life she’s been living and reaches for a chance at her own happiness.

Inspired by Nina’s autobiography and Emma’s letters to Mark Twain, Innocents at Home explores how these two women inspire each other to overcome devastation and discover the courage to live life on their own terms.

Raving Reviews:

In Innocents at Home, award-winning author Linda Ulleseit confirms what those of us who have read her previous novels already knew. She is an exceptionally creative historical fiction writer. It takes a rare talent to be able to juxtapose the loves, lives, and careers of two women friends in relation to their experience with Mark Twain. Leave it to Ms. Ulleseit to do just that. Through an absorbing narrative that spans three decades from the mid to late 1800s, Innocents at Home carries us from a voyage to the Holy Land to New York and to the West Coast. Besides getting to know the two protagonists intimately, what I enjoyed most was Ms. Ulleseit’s authentic depiction of how society, culture, and family interacted during the Gilded Age. Highly recommended for those ready to immerse themselves in an authentic reconstruction of a time in our past we should never forget. AR

Linda Ulleseit, the Author of “INNOCENTS AT HOME” has written an intriguing and captivating Historical Novel. The genres for this well-written and well researched novel are Women’s Friendship Fiction, Women’s Historical Fiction and Historical Fiction. The timeline for this story starts approximately in 1867 after a five month voyage to the Holy Land. Mark Twain, the author writes about this voyage, and one of the female protagonists adores him, and the other female protagonist despises him. The two women, Emma Beach and Nina Larrowe form a lifelong friendship after this journey. The author vividly describes the scenery, the historical timeline, and the dramatic and colorful characters. This unique novel is based on the true lives of real characters.

Linda Ulleseit takes the reader on a journey to see how both women navigate the difficulties in their lives as their search for their own happiness. Emma is very artistic and Nina is very articulate, and their family dynamics, successes and aspirations are discussed. Neither of the women have their own children, yet show courage, creativity and inspiration in their lives. Book Sparks News highly recommend this memorable novel. AR

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by Linda Ulleseit

About the Author

Linda Ulleseit, a founding member of Paper Lantern Writers, is a California native who earned her MFA from Lindenwood University. She is a retired elementary school teacher who believes in the unspoken power of women living ordinary lives. UNDER THE ALMOND TREES, a historical novel set in pioneer California, came out in 2014. It was a finalist in the 2013 Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Contest. THE ALOHA SPIRIT, set in territorial Hawaii, came out in August of 2020 from She Writes Press. It was a bronze medal winner in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and a Grand Prize winner at the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards. THE RIVER REMEMBERS coming 2023 from She Writes Press, follows a white settler, a Dakota chief’s daughter, and a Black slave, all real people, who lived at or near Fort Snelling in 1835.

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