Two summer mysteries unravel in 'The Cliffs' and 'The God of the Woods'

Exploring the creative stimuli behind two distinct novels, J. Courtney Sullivan’s “The Cliffs” and Liz Moore’s “The God of the Woods,” offers insight into how real-life experiences and historical events can be woven into the fabric of fiction.

Inspiration from a Mysterious Abandoned House

J. Courtney Sullivan’s novel "The Cliffs" was inspired by a real-life abandoned house

J. Courtney Sullivan shares that the inspiration for her novel "The Cliffs" stemmed from a real-life experience. Alongside her husband and another couple, Sullivan discovered an enchanting yet deserted purple Victorian mansion perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean in southern Maine. The mansion, although fully furnished, was clearly abandoned, provoking Sullivan's imagination in a manner reminiscent of classic mystery novels like those in the Nancy Drew series. While Sullivan and her friend were enthralled with the prospect of exploring the mansion, their husbands exercised more caution.

A Serial Killer's Legacy Becomes a Novel

Liz Moore's novel "The God of the Woods" was inspired by the real-life serial killer Robert Garrow

Liz Moore drew inspiration for her novel "The God of the Woods" from the real-life figure of Robert Garrow, a serial killer who brought terror to the Adirondack region in the 1970s. In the novel, the character Jacob Sluder, nicknamed Slitter, embodies the essence of a living ghost story, haunting the campers and co ...

Sullivan and Moore's novels delve into the lives of women and the class/social divides that shape their experiences, highlighting the historical context that often goes unacknowledged.

"The Cliffs" centers on the stories of the generations of women who have lived in the Victorian mansion, weaving together their narratives to explore how a woman's time and place of birth can shape her future.

The protagonist, Jane, is an archivist who returns to her hometown and begins to uncover the histories of the women who previously occupied the house, finding connections and commonalities between their experiences.

Jane Flanagan, a Harvard archivist, returns to her hometown after a work incident to document the history of a mansion for the new owner. In her work, Jane uncovers the often forgotten or unnoticed stories of the women who lived in the house, diving into their disparate lives that are united by universal themes such as motherhood, love, romance, and personal loss.

The novel highlights how women's stories are often discarded or lost, and Jane's work to document the house's history allows these narratives to be preserved and shared.

Sullivan portrays the Schlesinger Library where Jane works as a real-life hub for chronicling American women's lives. Through Jane's archival work, the novel emphasizes the importance of preserving women's legacies to ensure their stories remain vibrant parts of history.

"The God of the Woods" explores the class tensions and social divides within the Adirondack region, particularly between the wealthy families who own summer homes and the working-class locals who staff the camps and rely on the land for their livelihoods.

The novel follows the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family's summer camp, raising questions about the family's potential involvement and the differences between the camp families and the "townies."

In Moore's "The God of the Woods," set in 1975, the narrative unfolds around a summer camp in the Adirondacks, spotlighting the historical class divides. The mystery of a missing 13-year-old girl from the prestigious Van Laar family drives the plot, while simultaneously casting suspicion on ...

The line between fiction and reality often blurs as authors draw inspiration from the world around them, weaving real-life events and venues into their creative work. Both J. Courtney Sullivan and Liz Moore provide prime examples of this blend with their novels.

J. Courtney Sullivan's influenced setting in "The Cliffs"

Personal experiences can seed a novelist’s imagination. Such was the case for J. Courtney Sullivan, who wove her experiences with an abandoned house in Maine into the fabric of her novel, “The Cliffs.” Sullivan felt a deep connection to the house, having returned to it every summer with friends and fantasizing that it was theirs.

When the real-life house was torn down and replaced with a new construction, Sullivan found herself deeply affected by the loss. This experience propelled her to start writing about the house, capturing its furnishings and the essence of the space with a vividness that stemmed directly from her own observations and memories. In crafting her novel, Sullivan fictionalized the physical details, adding characters and stories of the women who had allegedly lived there through the centuries, but the heart of the setting sprang directly from her personal encounters with the actual property.

Liz Moore's novel "The God of the Woods" and its historical ties

In “The God of the Woods,” Liz Moore reaches into the past to pull out the chilling figure of Ro ...