HENDERSON HOUSE
by Caren Simpson McVicker
|
|
Inkshares
8/1/23
Historical Fiction
Paperback, 434 pages
|
"Like a love song to my Oklahoma roots, the story of Henderson House offers a sweet window into a past when lives and loves moved to the gentle rhythm of small-town cafes, front porch swings, and old two-lane highways."
-Lisa Wingate
"McVicker has created a world that is both cozy and yet brimming with dark secrets, the possibility of new love, and conflicting plans for the future. Alive with small-town, 1940s details, readers will be charmed by this sweet story."
-Juliette Fay
|
|
An enchanting boardinghouse tale of sisters, secrets, and later-in-life romance, Henderson House invites you to pull up a rocking chair and lose yourself in the heartaches and hopes of 1940s Oklahoma.
In May 1941, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, hums with talk of spring flowers, fishing derbies, and the growing war in Europe. And for the Blackwell sisters, who reside in a quiet neighborhood boarding house, the winds of change are blowing.
Bessie Blackwell, copy room manager at Phillips Petroleum and faithful churchgoer, is the reluctant owner of a new pair of glasses. The young women in the office swear by Bessie's romantic advice, despite the fact she's a self-proclaimed spinster. Frank Davis, Henderson House’s newest tenant, throws that status into question with his gentle eyes and ready smile. But the scar on his forehead and rumors of divorce speak of a troubled past.
Bessie’s sister, Florence, a sales assistant at the men's clothing store downtown, knows all about troubled pasts. Her husband is dead, and it’s only with her sister's help that she’s able to raise Johnny. Life at Henderson House is luxurious compared to growing up in Cherokee Indian Territory, but Florence wants more for her boy than a rented room. When the flagship store in Tulsa offers her a management position, Florence sets her sights on the future and keeping the family together. And neither future nor family includes Frank Davis.
Mrs. Henderson, the landlady, cook, and adopted matriarch of the Blackwell clan, possesses an uncanny intuition about all her boarders. She knows true love when she sees it. But soon even her vision becomes clouded as Florence schemes to undermine her sister’s budding romance. In a desperate attempt to keep Bessie by her side, Florence exposes the sisters' darkest secret, one that will change their lives, and the lives of those they love, forever.
|
|
Dear Reader,
My husband and I often talk about life having three acts. Act One opened at birth and ran into our early careers. Act Two began not so much when we got married, but when we had children. Now, the curtain is rising on my Act Three. At fifty-seven, I am a debut novelist. And it started when my father was dying.
I traveled from Vermont to Florida as often as I could while my dad was ill. During a November 2017 visit, we reminisced about our Memorial Day trips to Oklahoma. We would fly to Tulsa, pick up my grandma, drive to Bartlesville, pick up my Great Aunt Boo Boo, and head to the cemetery in Claremore. As a teenager, I was fascinated by these tiny, ancient sisters tottering around the headstones, arguing about what color plastic flowers to place on each grave. Both were born in Indian Territory in the late 1890s. One lost her husband early. The other was unmarried, in her forties, and living in a boarding house when she fell in love. They were as close and as different as only sisters can be. Reliving these visits with my father reawakened the inner voice of teenage me saying, “You should write about them.”
On my way home that November, I got stuck at the Atlanta Airport. Settling in for a three-hour delay, I took out my laptop and began writing what would become the breakfast scene in Henderson House. I hadn’t written fiction since college. I gave up my dream of being a novelist when I was nineteen, taking the safe, steady-paycheck route, and changing my major to Public Relations. But that’s the beauty of Act Three; you don’t have to choose the well-lit path anymore. Act Three frees you to do something scary and unexpected, like write a novel set in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Now, I have the honor of sharing this story with you and the privilege of writing the next story and the next. The curtain is up. My Act Three is underway. What will you do with yours?
-Caren Simpson McVicker
|
Book Club Recipe and Menu
|
The kitchen is the heart of Henderson House and with so many recipes in the novel, it was hard to pick just one to share. But I thought Edna’s Award-Winning Deviled Eggs might be a book club winner, especially with the preference for low-carb dishes these days.
Edna is Mrs. Henderson’s housekeeper and co-cook at Henderson House. As Mrs. H says they’ve been “dancing around this kitchen together for almost twenty years.” I loved choreographing the scenes of the two, working side-by-side as they chatted and charted the future. Mrs. H tells us that Edna’s deviled eggs have won more awards than she can remember, including the blue ribbon at the Washington County Fair last year. Her secret? Adding a little of her homemade relish. If you’ve never added sweet pickle relish to your deviled eggs, you’re in for a treat!
As a writer of historical fiction, I couldn’t resist doing a little research on the origins of this potluck favorite. Turns out, you can trace the deviled egg all the way back to ancient Rome. The term “deviled” is a culinary description that goes back to the 1700s and applies to any dish with spicy seasonings. Author Anne Byrn says she found the first mention of a recipe for deviled eggs in an Alabama newspaper in 1877. The easily transported dish gained popularity in the 1920s when automobiles led to a surge in outdoor excursions, church picnics, and family gatherings.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of making deviled eggs is the opportunity to experiment with different ingredients and toppings. I’ve used wasabi mayo and black sesame seeds to make creepy and delicious deviled eggs for Halloween, added salsa and cilantro for a Mexican flair, and of course, crumbled cooked bacon on top whenever possible.
-Caren Simpson McVicker
|
|
Food plays an essential role in this novel set in a 1940s boarding house. One of the key early scenes in Henderson House is the Wednesday night church supper. Mrs. Henderson and Edna explain the history of the weekly gathering to a new lodger, Frank Davis. The church began hosting these potluck suppers during the Depression and as Edna says, “if there were times you couldn’t bring anything to share, no one paid any mind.” But the impact went beyond feeding people. “Seems like over a meal is always the best way to find out what’s really going on—who’s sick, who’s hungry, who’s lonely,” Mrs. Henderson confirms.
I chose a classic potluck supper theme for the Henderson House book club menu. Do you have a favorite dish you like to make for a potluck or do you remember one from your childhood? In the novel, Edna and Mrs. Henderson prepare Edna’s award-winning deviled eggs, Mrs. H’s cornbread and hotdog casserole—a Depression-era favorite that is always a hit with the kids— and a plate of oatmeal cookies. There were a host of other recipes in Henderson House I thought would make delicious potluck fare, including a tangy cucumber and tomato salad, Miss Lily’s million-dollar chicken casserole, and Mrs. H’s white cake with buttercream frosting—perhaps better prepared as cupcakes for an easy-to-serve dessert.
The characters in Henderson House prefer to drink sweet tea or lemonade, but to honor young Johnny’s love of golf and to add a little zip to your book club meeting, try an Oklahoma Club Special cocktail, made with vodka, limeade, and Sprite. This signature cocktail was invented at the Oklahoma Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City and is as refreshing as an Oklahoma breeze on an evening in late May.
Enjoy!
-Caren Simpson McVicker
POTLUCK SUPPER
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
White Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Oklahoma Club Specials
|
|
|
|
|
|
|