The Map of True Places

AUTHOR’S DISCLAIMER

Liberties taken. The weather. The houses. With the exception of the House of the Seven Gables, not one of the homes in this book is real. They are for the most part imaginary places set where real houses now stand. Don’t go looking for them, they do not exist. The same is true for the homes on Baker’s Island, which is a private island on which many generations of families have summered quietly. The only way we can visit Baker’s is by having a friend (or family member) who owns one of the cottages. I hope to get a second invitation one day. I have taken liberties of time with the factory in Lynn where Maureen worked when she met Finch. The factory was a real one, Hoague Sprague, and was owned in partnership by my great grandfather, Morton Hoague. It closed in the late 1950s, so Maureen could not have worked there.

I read many books in my research for The Map of True Places. For a suggested reading list as well as book club questions, please visit mapoftrueplaces.com.