Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the bestselling author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including the Christy Award-winning The Mark of the King and Drawn by the Current and her On Central Park Series.
In this interview, Jocelyn talks with us about her latest book, The Hudson Collection.
FF: The Hudson Collection is the second book in your On Central Park Series. Can you share a little bit about this story with us?
Elsa Reisner’s lifelong dream of working as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History is beginning to tarnish as the tedium of the job drains her passion. When she is assigned to catalog the bequest of a recently deceased patron, fate takes an unexpected turn. The Gothic country mansion is filled with secrets and treasures waiting to be discovered, and Elsa has been waiting for just such an adventure.
As she dives into her task, Elsa forms an unlikely bond with the estate’s delightful gardener and her daughter, as well as an architectural salvage dealer who still bears scars from the Great War. Together, they embark on a thrilling treasure hunt for a missing relic intended to safeguard the servants’ futures before the estate is sold. At the same time, Elsa’s body seems to betray her with new symptoms from a childhood disease that isn’t through with her yet.
When her handsome colleague joins the hunt, Elsa questions his motives. She must navigate the tangled web of secrets, along with the changing state of her health.
FF: This series follows three women in the 1920s who work in famous New York City museums. What draws you to the museum setting?
Each of the museums I’m featuring in this series is fascinating in its own right. Whether it’s Egyptian art, ornithology, or history, I love learning what my main characters are passionate about and why.
FF: Elsa Reisner is living her dream as an ornithologist for the Museum of Natural History, but it’s not turning out quite as she envisioned. What challenges is she facing, and how does her tendency toward perfectionism complicate things?
Her love of living birds has led her to a job in which she deals with dead birds. Some of her tasks include skinning, stuffing, and dissecting specimens, which has become tedious and not nearly as inspiring as studying birds in the wild. Her perfectionism makes her really good at what she does—but she learns that just because she’s good at something doesn’t mean she’s passionate about it.
FF: The main setting in this story is a huge country estate filled with interesting people and intriguing secrets. Why do you think we love to read stories set in big old houses?
Yes! Big old houses are full of secrets and stories. As readers, we never know what is about to be revealed about the people who lived there or what new adventures are in store for the characters just discovering it.
FF: Elsa encounters three secondary characters—the gardener, her daughter, and a veteran of the Great War. Can you tell us a little more about these characters and how they factor into Elsa’s task?
The gardener, Tatiana, is an immigrant from Croatia who was given her cottage on the estate when the mistress died, but the grounds were willed to the mistress’s nephew. Tatiana’s daughter, Danielle, is a neurodivergent twelve-year-old who is as fascinated by birds as Elsa is.
Today, Danielle would be identified as being on the autism spectrum, but in 1926, that diagnosis wasn’t yet in use, and she was very misunderstood. At a time in our country’s history when the eugenics movement was peaking, having a disability was a precarious thing. Still, the mistress of the estate had been fond of Danielle and willed her a certain piece of art that can’t be found. While Elsa is working at the estate, she searches for the artifact that could secure their future—but she’s not the only one looking for it.
Also working at the estate is architectural salvage dealer Luke Dupont, a quiet, thoughtful man, who still bears scars on his face from the Great War. He and his assistant, along with the German Shepherd that has been with him since the war, decide to help Elsa in the hunt. With Elsa still struggling with symptoms from her childhood bout with polio, they form a team to help Tatiana and Danielle before the gardener and her daughter lose everything.
FF: What are you most excited for readers to experience as they pick up this novel?
There are several answers I could give, but the top one is the relationships between the characters. Elsa forms bonds with such an eclectic group of people, each one uniquely beautiful because of the very scars or traits that the eugenics movement would call defective. I hope readers will feel like they’ve made new friends by the end of this story, too.
FF: What aspect of this story did you enjoy writing the most? What was the most challenging?
The same answer fits both questions. I enjoyed and was challenged by writing a main character with a chronic health issue. By “enjoyed,” what I really mean is that I found it important and fulfilling to explore how Elsa navigates dealing with symptoms she wishes were in the past. Her view of herself is largely tied to being a polio survivor, and that affects all her relationships, especially those with her parents. The challenge was in how to write the ending in a believable and satisfying way.
FF: What are you working on next?
I’m working on the third book in the series, which is Ivy’s story!
The Hudson Collection
On Central Park Series #2
Jocelyn Green
Bethany House
Genres: Historical Romance
Release Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN-10: 0764239643
ISBN-13: 978-0764239649
Book Summary:
Step into the beguiling world of 1926 New York and discover the power of resilience, friendship, and love from award-winning author Jocelyn Green.
Elsa Reisner’s lifelong dream of working as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History is fading as the job begins to drain her passion. But fate takes an unexpected turn when she is assigned to catalog the bequest of a recently deceased patron whose Gothic country mansion holds secrets and treasures waiting to be discovered.
As Elsa delves into her task, she forms an unlikely bond with the estate’s delightful gardener and her daughter, as well as an architectural salvage dealer who still bears scars from the Great War. Together, they embark on a thrilling treasure hunt for a missing relic intended to safeguard the servants’ futures before the estate is sold. At the same time, Elsa’s body seems to betray her with new symptoms from a childhood disease that isn’t through with her yet.
With the brooding veteran and her handsome colleague joining the search, Elsa must navigate the tangled web of secrets and hidden motives along with the changing state of her health. As her deadline looms ever closer, will she be able to secure a new life for her friends before the estate slips from their grasp?
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