A White Room
Stephanie Carroll
June 2013
408 Pages
Soft Cover: $14.99
eBook: $3.99
Publisher: Unhinged Books
ISBN: 978-0-9888674-0-6
eBook ISBN:
978-0-9888674-1-3
LCCN: 2013930913
Available in Print and
eBook (Kindle, Nook, Sony, e-pub)
Find Stephanie Carroll
Endorsements
“A novel of grit, independence, and determination ... An intelligent story, well told.”
—Renée Thompson, author of The Plume Hunter and The Bridge at Valentine
“The best historical fiction makes you forget it’s fiction and forget it’s historical. Reminiscent of The Yellow Wallpaper … the thoughtful, intricate story Carroll relates is absolutely mesmerizing.”
—Eileen Walsh, Ph.D. U.S. Women’s History, University of San Diego
About A White Room
At the close of the Victorian Era, society still expected middle-class women to be “the angels of the house,” even as a select few strived to become something more. In this time of change, Emeline Evans dreamed of becoming a nurse. But when her father dies unexpectedly, Emeline sacrifices her ambitions and rescues her family from destitution by marrying John Dorr, a reserved lawyer who can provide for her family.
John moves Emeline to the remote Missouri town of Labellum and into an unusual house where her sorrow and uneasiness edge toward madness. Furniture twists and turns before her eyes, people stare out at her from empty rooms, and the house itself conspires against her. The doctor diagnoses hysteria, but the treatment merely reinforces the house’s grip on her mind.
Emeline only finds solace after pursuing an opportunity to serve the poor as an unlicensed nurse. Yet in order to bring comfort to the needy she must secretly defy her husband, whose employer viciously hunts down and prosecutes unlicensed practitioners. Although women are no longer burned at the stake in 1900, disobedience is a symptom of psychological defect, and hysterical women must be controlled.
A novel of madness and secrets, A White Room presents a fantastical glimpse into the forgotten cult of domesticity, where one’s own home could become a prison and a woman has to be willing to risk everything to be free.
About the Author
As a reporter and community editor, Stephanie Carroll earned first place awards from the National Newspaper Association and from the Nevada Press Association. Stephanie holds degrees in history and social science. She graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Fresno.
Her dark and magical writing is inspired by the classic authors Charlotte Perkins Gilman (The Yellow Wallpaper), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden), and Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights).
Stephanie blogs and writes fiction in California, where her husband is stationed with the U.S. Navy. Her website is www.stephaniecarroll.net.
A White Room is her debut novel.
The Following Excerpt is from A White Room by Stephanie Carroll
The moon was missing, and darkness crept into my room like
an intruder and disguised the white walls. I stared into the black,
waiting for something to happen. I intended to escape from the
bed, but I didn’t stir for a while. Each night, I would wait until Ella
or Margaret retired for the evening and sneak out from beneath
the covers and onto my feet. On the first night, I was desperate to
move, but with each night thereafter, the simple acts of moving,
standing, and walking were more and more like wading through
mud. How many days of nothingness and nights of skulking had
there been? I felt as if I had already spent an eternity trapped in
this room.
Everyone refused to confirm my diagnosis, but hysteria or not,
resting was certainly not a cure. The longer I rested, the more
fatigued I felt. I awoke exhausted. I languished throughout the day.
Rest was the only thing I was allowed to do. I wasn’t even permitted
books or pen and paper. If my visitors found any contraband, they
seized it.
~~~
At night, a part of me wanted to stay in bed and never move, but
my extremities were anxious, about to twitch if I didn’t force them
to carry out their purpose. I laughed at myself, pitiful. I owned no
will. The only freedom I experienced came with the footsteps I
stole in the night. I didn’t enjoy them, though, because I took each
step with trepidation for fear of waking the beings beneath or,
worse, the monster in the empty room next to me.
I opened my eyes to the dark and waited for them to adjust.
Finally, I raised the blanket and slid my lower limbs off the right
side of the bed. They felt wobbly, like the stalk of a feeble flower.
I placed my toes down first and lowered my feet cautiously. The
wood felt cool beneath my feet despite the warmth in the air. I
stood but didn’t expect the heaviness of my body, and I had to lean
against the mattress to steady myself.
~~~
What were they doing down there unsupervised? I studied the
floorboards and gradually lowered myself. I positioned my hands
flat on the floor, brought down my right ear, and listened. There
was nothing but silence drumming in my ears. I tried to disregard
the constant hum of quiet and listen, but a startling thud sounded
from the wall opposite the bed—the monster. I lifted my head but
remained on all fours. I did not dare move.
I slowly rose, perceiving its stare through the wall. I concentrated
in the direction of the thud as I shrank back to the bed, taking each
step with caution. I lifted my limbs off the floor and buried them
under the bedspread, which I promptly drew to my chin. I eyed
the room. I wondered if anything was with me. It was so black that
something could be lurking about and I wouldn’t know. I wanted
to light a lamp, but I didn’t want to draw its attention.
I knew it had a plan for me.
They must have roused downstairs. I heard wood scuffing
against wood. In my mind, I saw the furniture. I saw the leg of
a table slide out from beneath it and drag its quadratic body out
from its position. Then the other tables’ legs started to move. The
cabinets noticed and began twirling their slender appendages. The
sofa, chairs, and tables all woke up and began to slink about the
parlor. The bugs on the dishes in the dining room took flight, and
the salamanders slithered off the spoons. The sitting room started
to contract and digest everything inside it. I could feel the people
down the hall, stirring in their rooms, scrutinizing me, judging.
The beast scratched at the walls like a sinister man scratching a
chalkboard long and hard without letting up.
It was too much.
The scratching stopped and a deep groan slowly rose up out
of the house’s gut—the dungeon. It started low with a rumble
and grew louder and louder into an inhuman wailing that seeped
through the cracks and crevices. I covered my ears and scrunched
down. The beast started to beat the wall again, and the furniture
wouldn’t let up clacking and clanking below. There was so much
noise. I squeezed my ears harder and closed my eyes. I didn’t know
how much longer I would last. How much longer could I last?
--Quoted with the permission of the author.
The Stories Behind The Insanity in A White Room
By Stephanie Carroll
There are a few stories behind the insanity in my novel – a classic story, a unique history, and my own personal feelings.
Much of the insanity in A White Room was inspired and modeled after Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s nineteenth century short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” which is about a woman diagnosed with hysteria and confined to her bedroom where the wallpaper slowly drives her insane. In the end, it’s clear that the main character gained a level of freedom and even revenge by having gone insane.
After coming up with the initial idea for A White Room, I realized that “The Yellow Wallpaper” told a very similar story to what I wanted to tell. I have always loved that story, so I decided to model my book after it. However, instead of the wallpaper driving my character Emeline insane, I wanted it to be the literal embodiment of domesticity – the house and furniture – which comes to life. That’s why I spend a great deal of time describing the house and furniture in the novel, so that when it comes to life it will be that much more vivid.
I also wanted the history of hysteria to play a large role in the insanity in this book. Hysteria was a popular diagnosis for women at the turn of the century. It had so many alleged symptoms, doctors diagnosed thousands of women despite how different their complaints were. Many really did have a mental disorder, such as depression or anxiety, but many more women were simply rebellious, homosexual, or promiscuous. I show Emeline experiencing more than one scenario. At first she really is going insane, but later in the book she starts to be accused of inanity simply because she does things society considers unacceptable.
It was popular to diagnose women with hysteria at the turn of the century because women were believed to be the weaker sex and thus more susceptible to mental illness. It was also believed that the female reproductive organs caused mental imbalances. Treatments ranged from opium tinctures and the water cure to genital massage, strict bed rest, admission into an insane asylum, and surgical removal of the defective organs, a procedure termed a “hysterectomy.”
I focused on the bed rest treatment in A White Room, not only because it was a key element in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” but also because it really was comparable to torture. Women weren’t just confined to their beds. Doctors insisted they have no stimulation whatsoever, meaning that they were not allowed to read or write or even really talk. They were only supposed to rest. With nothing but time to stare at the walls and furniture, it’s easy to see how they might start to see such things come to life.
Although much of the insanity in my novel was modeled after a classic story and the history of hysteria, if you dig deeper, the story really originates with me and the fact that I often feel like I’m going nuts. I think everyone on occasion wonders if they are going insane, but sometimes I personally find myself wondering if things might be better if I gave into it. What if by submitting to insanity, I could in a sense experience freedom – freedom from obligation and expectation – even if only for a moment before my world came crashing down? I don’t think I am the only person who has ever felt that way, and that’s what I wanted to explore with A White Room. I wanted to take the reader on a bizarre, frightening, and at times liberating journey into the depths of insanity for the sheer delight of giving in to it.
About A White Room
At the close of the Victorian Era, society still expected middle-class women to be “the angels of the house,” even as a select few strived to become something more. In this time of change, Emeline Evans dreamed of becoming a nurse. But when her father dies unexpectedly, Emeline sacrifices her ambitions and rescues her family from destitution by marrying John Dorr, a reserved lawyer who can provide for her family.
John moves Emeline to the remote Missouri town of Labellum and into an unusual house where her sorrow and uneasiness edge toward madness. Furniture twists and turns before her eyes, people stare out at her from empty rooms, and the house itself conspires against her. The doctor diagnoses hysteria, but the treatment merely reinforces the house’s grip on her mind.
Emeline only finds solace after pursuing an opportunity to serve the poor as an unlicensed nurse. Yet in order to bring comfort to the needy she must secretly defy her husband, whose employer viciously hunts down and prosecutes unlicensed practitioners. Although women are no longer burned at the stake in 1900, disobedience is a symptom of psychological defect, and hysterical women must be controlled.
A novel of madness and secrets, A White Room presents a fantastical glimpse into the forgotten cult of domesticity, where one’s own home could become a prison and a woman has to be willing to risk everything to be free.
A White Room is Available in Print $14.99 and
eBook $3.99 (Kindle, Nook, Sony)
About the Author
As a reporter and community editor, Stephanie Carroll earned first place awards from the National Newspaper Association and from the Nevada Press Association. Stephanie holds degrees in history and social science. She graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Fresno.
Her dark and magical writing is inspired by the classic authors Charlotte Perkins Gilman (The Yellow Wallpaper), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden), and Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights).
Stephanie blogs and writes fiction in California, where her husband is stationed with the U.S. Navy. A White Room is her debut novel.
Find Stephanie Carroll
Learn More About A White Room and Stephanie Carroll by Following the Blog Tour!
A White Room Blog Tour Dates
Weds, June 19 – Oh, For the Hook of a Book: Book Review and Giveaway (ebook)
Thurs, June 20 – Hazel the Witch: Interview and Giveaway (Print)
Sat, June 22 – Reading in Ecuador:
Guest Post: How to Write Suspenseful Fiction including A White Room excerpt
Thurs, June 27 – Momma Bears Book Blog: Giveaway and
Guest Post: The Story Behind the Insanity
Fri, June 28 – The Bookish Dame: Interview and Giveaway
Tues, July 2 – I am Indeed: Guest Post: Historical Accuracy in Historical Fiction
Mon, July 8 – Bookfari: Interview and Giveaway
Tues, July 9 – Hazel the Witch:
Guest Post – How to Write the Inner Thoughts of a Crazy Person - Finding Meaning in Insanity?
Weds, July 10 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers: Review and Giveaway
Fri, July 12 – Lost to Books: Guest Post TBA and Giveaway
Mon, July 15 – A Writer of History: Guest Post: Writing an Era – Where to Begin?
Weds, July 17 – Michelle’s Romantic Tangle: Interview
Thurs, July 18 – Oh, For the Hook of a Book: Interview
Tues, July 23 – Unabridged Chick: Review and Giveaway
Thurs July 25 – Ravings and Ramblings: Review and Interview
Tues July 30 – Reading the Past: Giveaway and Guest Post:
Writing and Historical Thought - They Didn't Think Like We Did 100 Years Ago
Sat, Aug. 3 – History and Women: Giveaway and Guest Post:
Guest Post: Victorian Women and the Mystery of Sex
Thank you so much Lauren for having me on your fabulous blog! I really enjoyed writing this post and I hope your readers enjoy it too.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing what they think and reading their comments. =)
Sincerely,
Stephanie Carroll
it would be so nice to read a historical fiction set in the US.....
ReplyDeletethank you for the giveaway!!!
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