The Latecomers

From the bestselling author of What Was Mine-a deeply moving family drama about a young Irish immigrant, an ancestral home in New England and a dark secret that lay hidden in its walls for five generations.

In 1908, sixteen-year-old Bridey runs away from her small town in Ireland with her same-age sweetheart Thom. But when Thom dies suddenly of ship fever on their ocean crossing, Bridey finds herself alone and pregnant in a strange new world.

Forced by circumstance to give up the baby for adoption, Bridey finds work as a maid for the Hollingworth family at a lavish, sprawling estate. It's the dawn of a new century: innovative technologies are emerging, women's roles are changing, and Bridey is emboldened by the promise of a fresh start. She cares for the Hollingworth children as if they were her own, until a mysterious death changes Bridey and the household forever. For decades, the terrible secrets of Bridey's past continue to haunt the family. And in the present day, the youngest Hollingworth makes a connection that finally brings these dark ghost stories into the light.

Told in interweaving timelines and rich with detailed history, romance and dark secrets, Helen Klein Ross' The Latecomers spans a century of America life and reminds us all that we can never truly leave the past behind.

Helen Klein Ross is the author of two novels: What Was Mine and Making It: A Novel Of Madison Avenue and creator of The Traveler's Vade Mecum, an anthology of new poems titled by old telegrams. Her poetry, essays and fiction have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and literary journals.

Helen spent decades as a writer/creative director at global ad agencies on both coasts. She graduated from Cornell University and received an MFA from The New School. She lives with her husband in New York City and Salisbury, CT.