A family story leads to a debut novel in “One April After The War”

Picture this—you're cleaning out the home of a relative who's passed on when you find a scrapbook and the message “Please finish this story.” What's your answer? For author G.S. Boarman, that answer was “Yes,” and we all benefit with the new book “One April After The War.” Here's a quick synopsis:

Fresh from concluding a counterfeiting sting in Cincinnati, Secret Service agents Merritt and Argent are tasked by President Ulysses S. Grant to convince Miss Warner to return with them to Washington, D.C. For the two Treasury agents, this simple assignment to escort the socially awkward and willful young woman on an 800-mile railroad journey from Louisville, Kentucky to the White House proves far more interesting and difficult than the men could have ever thought possible. And, in the face of danger, it may just turn out that Mary is more of an asset than a problem for the two agents.

In this episode, G.S. and I talk about the discovery and what led them to complete the story, a gripping historical adventure set right after the Civil War. We're introduced to the origins of the Secret Service, a much different organization than the one we know today. We also learn about the main characters, Secret Service agents Merritt and Argent and Mary Warner, and the work that went into creating them.

This book explores the themes of mental illness and sexism and what is was like to be mentally ill in the late 1800s. G.S. and I also look at the endless research that was done (enjoyably so) to make this book happen.