Inspiration for the Lizzie Millett Series

A loyal reader who I met at the Fryeburg Fair asked me the question put to me nearly every time I am at an appearance. It is a query put to me all the time.

“What was the inspiration for you to write a series?”

I always have the same answer.

The letter written by Berthie Fogg Libby in 1953 which appears at the beginning of The Spinster’s Hope Chest, the first of three titles in the Lizzie Millett Series, led me to write all three.

Reading Berthie’s response to a request for biographical information about Lizzie Millett set me to thinking about Lizzie, her travails and triumphs. Libby was born 1871 in Waterford, Maine, but lived in California at the time she wrote the letter. Although she likely knew Millett who was born in 1861 in Waterford, her recollections of an older, weak woman were flat and simplistic. In fact, I thought her memories may have been blurred by an aging mind or showed a certain bias against Lizzie. Deeper research on the history of Lizzie, who was born in a house only two miles from my own, led me to believe that she was not the weak and sniveling woman whose tears dampened her pillow each night. My conclusion was that she was resilient and creative. She left the security of her rural home at an early age to earn a living and then used skills learned early from her deceased mother to create her own business as a dressmaker.

Was my speculative interpretation of an early entrepreneurial woman fact or fiction? You’ll have to be the judge.

Here’s what Catherine Pafford had to say about the matter on Goodreads.com.

“The Spinster’s Hope Chest is a compelling and beautifully crafted historical novel that brings Lizzie Millett’s journey to life with depth and authenticity. Robert W Spencer paints a vivid picture of 19th-century Maine while exploring the timeless challenges women face in carving out their own paths. Lizzie’s perseverance, intelligence and resilience make her an unforgettable heroine, and her story feels both historically grounded and surprisingly relevant. This first installment in the Lizzie Millett Series is engaging, inspiring, and rich with emotional truth a wonderful beginning to a thoughtful and well-researched trilogy.”

The fourth novel in the Lizzie Millet Series will be released in 2027 giving Lizzie's fans a chance to reconnect with the characters. The Spinster’s Hope Chest was released in 2018. The fourth novel's working title is The Miner’s Children. It is set in the same places as the preceding three, as well as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. And, as you may have guessed, it has something to do with mining in Maine.

I can't wait to share it with you.