Julie Klassen
Julie Klassen
Author and editor
"If you love Regency romance, English accents, Jane Eyre, or anything by Jane Austen, then you and I are soul sisters and I wrote this book for you. Lady of Milkweed Manor is my first novel, and I dearly hope you enjoy it." -- Julie Klassen
From an interview by Molly Millett - St. Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), 1/17/08
Julie Klassen is partial to Jane Austen, "Masterpiece Theatre" and God. These interests all came together for the local Christian fiction editor when she was watching the movie "Girl With a Pearl Earring," a period piece about the 1600s household of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.
"In the movie, there was a wet nurse, a very minor background character who lived with the couple and nursed their infant," says Klassen. "She's not even named in the film, but for some reason, the idea of her really intrigued me. I thought, 'Wow, what would that be like to be a young woman living in someone's house, nursing their child?'"
That curiosity led Klassen, an editor with Bethany House, a Minnesota-based Christian publisher, to write her first novel, "Lady of Milkweed Manor," about a fallen vicar's daughter who becomes a wet nurse in the early 1800s and along the way learns about love, sacrifice, faith and forgiveness.
Jane Austen and England's Regency Era are more popular than ever.
"Public television is airing six movies which are based on her novels. I was watching 'Persuasion' last night, and in the intro, the 'Masterpiece Theatre' host, Gillian Anderson, was talking about why Jane Austen is so immortal, and I think it's because she writes about true love and that everyone has a soul mate and the characters are so honest and not afraid to go against societal pressure to find happiness," Klassen says. "I know I am not alone in liking her, and I'm hoping those same fans will find their way over to Milkweed Manor."
At her home in the St. Paul area, Klassen continues juggling her editing duties and her role as a wife and a mom to two boys, ages 10 and 7, while writing a second book on nights and weekends - but this time, her colleagues know about it.
"The working title is 'The Apothecary's Daughter,' " says Klassen. "It is set in a similar time period in the 1800s in England. As in 'Milkweed Manor,' it's about a woman who finds herself in an unexpected situation: She has to decide whether to keep living her elegant London life or return to her father's shop when he becomes ill and basically become an apothecary in his stead, to keep the shop going, during a time when women were not allowed to do that. She has to do it in secret. It has the same kind of themes - difficult choices and lots of romance and mystery - because that's what I love. I'm a romantic at heart."
Visit Julie's beautiful Official Website to learn more about the book, read reviews or an excerpt, and join her mailing list.