The House on Lowell Street

A Novel

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Rose Morrison’s comfortable life as a banker’s wife is upended when her husband dies suddenly. His secret and formidable debts are now hers to somehow pay. To support herself and her son, Rose takes in boarders—but only women with impeccable references. Eventually, though, she reluctantly lowers her standards and boards two seamstresses from the corset factory, who help her clean.

Trouble is brewing at the factory, where a union contract is about to expire. A charismatic organizer arrives from New York to lead the talks and draws Rose into the conflict between the workers and a factory owner bent on killing the union. As Rose’s affection and sympathy grow for her boarders, she is confronted with confusing moral choices. It is not enough to care; one must also act. Based on a true event: the strike of the Kalamazoo corset workers in 1912.

Anyone who has struggled to do the right thing, even when the cost was high, will be heartened by this story of perseverance against all odds. History buffs will enjoy an insider’s look at a little-known strike that reveals the challenges faced by union workers before legislation protected them.

Media Kit

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Author Bio

Linda A. Keane left the structured world of business communications to let her imagination fly and create this tale of intrigue in a corset factory in her hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The House on Lowell Street captured the Grand Prize of the 2018 Deep River Books Writer’s Contest. Linda is also an award-winning journalist (Maryland Delaware Press Association) with a BA and MSJ from Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. An editor in corporate communications for the Wrigley Company, she traveled widely to report on new markets and products. Linda thrives on the diversity of Chicago, where she lives with her cat. She welcomes visits from her daughter Alex, granddaughter Phoebe, and son Marty. A lifelong Methodist, she is a member of 1^st United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple and United Methodist Women. Linda shares her love of reading with third graders at a neighborhood school.