The Altamonte Hotel

Lillian Blackwell is opulently raised in Boston with an adoring father and a mother who cannot accept her daughter’s strong, independent personality. As a young adult, Lillian and her parents, attend the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, igniting her insatiable desire for all the nuances the late nineteenth century has to offer.
Her marriage of convenience to James Clayton, at her father’s insistence, allows her to become an owner of The Altamonte Hotel in Florida. On their honeymoon trip down the St. Johns River, she meets Bonner McDermott, a rogue riverboat captain, who after learning of James’s death from malaria, pursues Lillian’s love interest. However, Lillian discovers she’s pregnant from her honeymoon and therefore has no time for romance.
Now widowed and thousands of miles from the security of her father’s support and encouragement, Lillian is determined to prove to the world that she can succeed as a hotelier. She is mentored by Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle, as well as hosting many prominent, fascinating people who stay at The Altamonte. She befriends the black hotel maid, Birdie, who becomes her confidant. Lillian endures constant hardships in a rural setting and a male-dominated society.
Bonner joins Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders in the Spanish American War. Upon returning home after experiencing the atrocities of the war, he realizes that his womanizing days are over. Will Lillian let him into her tight circle?