Righting the Wrongs of the Past

Apr 20

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Thomas Bauer Author Interview

Hattie’s World follows a young woman as she emerges from her father’s shadow, striving for independence and redefining her community amidst her father’s pursuit of power. What do you believe your novel conveys about the power of individual actions?

Human resilience and the importance of righting the wrongs of the past.

Hattie’s World delves into themes of family legacy and personal resilience. How do you approach weaving these themes into your narrative without overpowering the story?

I hope I simply allow the characters to grow, relate to others, go through the motions of life, and experience its highs and lows in as natural a way as possible.

What inspired the character of Hattie Winthrop, and how did you develop her journey from a marginalized figure to a symbol of hope and leadership?

Strangely, I was inspired by an abandoned mansion that had fallen into ruin and was falling apart. I tried to imagine its past and came up with a short story which is the basis for the epilogue, “Herbie Banks.” I thought there was enough in it to transform it into a novel. Hattie and her father’s story emerged from my imagination.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

I’ve recently completed The Last Tryst, a historical novel of the Belle Epoque in Paris. In it, my protagonists, a young man who gains access to high society by romancing ignored wives of the very rich and a fallen socialite who becomes a successful courtesan, mingle with some of the period’s historical figures.

Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website | Amazon

Owen Winthrop, the profligate son of a New England business tycoon, has offended the town’s morals one last time. His father disowns him and sends him into exile with a sizable amount of money he can waste or use to make a life for himself. He comes to California where he discovers a small fishing village with an abundant harvest of sardines. The fishermen make very little money off the catch, since most of the profits go to the canneries in Monterey. Determined to build a cannery there, Owen goes to Monterey to learn the business. After a year of working in one of the canneries, he returns and builds his own cannery which brings him enormous wealth. Ruthlessly, he forces all the town’s businesses to share their profits with him. In complete control of the town, he builds other businesses, including a notorious brothel.
Convinced he needs a wife to be accepted socially, Owen marries a girl he met in Monterey. It is a loveless marriage, but when a daughter, Hattie, is born, he learns he is capable of love and becomes devoted to the child. She grows into a beautiful and confident young woman with a thirst for life outside of the confines of her home. Fascination with a Portuguese fisherman results in a torrid love affair that results in a grisly murder. To punish her, Owen confines her to their home, where she lives in isolation for twenty years until his death.

Made heiress by to a great fortune by her father as both a joke and revenge on a town that reviled him, she emerges from isolation determined to atone for the sins she discovered her father has committed. Her crusade takes her from pariah to sainthood as she molds the town in her own image. Her deeds and gifts to the town makes her everyone’s Aunt Hattie in this family saga that spans the Twentieth Century.

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