Lauren Rabb: Walking Through Time
Artist's Wife Becomes Widow's Muse

"Ever since Will died, my life has been meaningless."

When Eleanor Strayer reads these words in a page randomly drawn from a packet of crumbling, century-old letters, she feels an instant kinship with their unknown author. Eleanor also lost a husband named William, and after two years she still can't get on with her life.

Eleanor embarks on a quest to discover who wrote the letters -- and how they ended up in her attic. When she identifies the writer as Gertrude Picknell, wife of the artist William Lamb Picknell, she is determined to solve an even bigger mystery -- what happened to Gertrude after the last letter was written?

Rabb deftly counterpoints the events in Gertrude's life with the emotional journey Eleanor experiences as she pursues her research. By the end of the book, the reader cares deeply about what happened to Gertrude -- and what will happen to Eleanor.

Walking Through Time is based on historical events. While Rabb, an art historian, was researching the definitive catalog of William Lamb Picknell's work, she became fascinated with Gertrude Picknell's life. She chose to explore that life through fiction because she felt that the limited documentation available would not support a full biography.

For example, only two letters from Gertrude survived. (Both are included in the book.) But so expertly has Rabb constructed the dozens of fictional letters surrounding them, readers will have a hard time telling which is which. (Rabb, in her afterward, doesn't say.)

Although not marketed as a romance, the book will interest the romance fan, especially when the possibility of a new relationship enters Eleanor's life. Although not technically a whodunit either, mystery buffs will enjoy Eleanor's historical sleuthing. No matter which genre's your favorite, Walking Through Time provides a compelling, satisfying read.

Donna Andrews

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