The Innkeeper's Wife
A Novel of Bertha Palmer and the Gilded Age Chicago
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The Innkeeper's Wife
Buy Now for £15.40
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Narrated by:
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Lily Redfield
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By:
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Siobhan Hartsell
In October 1871, the Great Chicago Fire reduced a booming city to ashes, scattering fortunes and futures alike. Barely a year into her marriage, twenty-two-year-old Bertha Honoré Palmer stood firm as her husband, Potter Palmer, spoke of leaving Chicago. He was prepared to abandon the devastated city and begin again elsewhere. Bertha refused. Chicago would rebuild and so would they. At the restored Palmer House, Bertha turned glittering dinners into arenas of influence, learning that power could be wielded as skillfully in a ballroom as in a boardroom.
As Chicago prepared for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, Bertha accepted the presidency of the Board of Lady Managers. Facing skepticism and entrenched opposition, she fought to ensure women’s achievements would not stand in the shadows of men’s ambition.
From smoke-choked streets to a new century’s promise, The Innkeeper’s Wife is a sweeping story of resilience, influence, and a woman refusing to stand in history’s margins.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2026 Siobhan Hartsell (P)2026 Siobhan Hartsell