Mrs. Winchester's Biographer

by Deanna Lynn Sletten

Was Sarah Winchester a woman of mystery or simply a strong woman who lived her life on her own terms? It will take another strong woman to ensure her story is told.

1918 – Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, has read and heard all the newspaper stories written about her. Snob. Crazy. Insane. Spiritualist. Ghosts. Séances. The list goes on and on. At the age of seventy-nine, she’s lived an incredible life and her wealth has allowed her to live as she pleased. Sarah loves projects, and now she has one last project she wishes to complete. It’s time she compiled her life story so friends and family will know the truth once she’s gone. But with her crippling arthritis, she needs someone to help her. She hopes the young woman her lawyer, Frank Lieb, has sent to the house will fit in with her staff and work well as her typist. Sarah knows she doesn’t have many years left, and this is a project she is determined to finish.

1918 – Olivia Collins is a young single woman who has found herself in a precarious predicament. Through a mutual friend, lawyer Frank Lieb, she’s been offered a chance to work with the infamous Sarah Winchester. Olivia is nervous about meeting the elderly woman she has heard stories about all her life. But she desperately needs this job. Without it, Olivia has no idea what her future will hold.

Today – Morgan Connors is helping her mother go through her recently deceased grandmother’s possessions when she comes upon an old manuscript. The title states it is Sarah Winchester’s Autobiography. Morgan works as an acquisition editor at a publisher in San Francisco and knows that no such book has ever been published. When her mother explains that Morgan’s great-great-grandmother, Olivia Collins, once worked for Mrs. Winchester, she’s intrigued. Who was Olivia Collins, and why did she have a manuscript of Sarah Winchester’s life story?

Mrs. Winchester’s Biographer tells the captivating story of Sarah Winchester’s life and how she became one of the most talked-about women of her time despite her attempts to protect her privacy.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, United States, Dual Timeline

295 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2023

About the author

Deanna Lynn Sletten is the author of MRS. WINCHESTER'S BIOGRAPHER, THE ONES WE LEAVE BEHIND, THE WOMEN OF GREAT HERON LAKE, MAGGIE'S TURN, THE LAKE HARRIET SERIES, and several other titles. She writes compelling historical fiction, heartwarming women's fiction, romance novels, and murder mysteries. She has also written one middle-grade novel that takes you on the adventure of a lifetime.

Deanna has recently begun a new murder mystery series, The Rachel Emery Series which includes THE TRUTH ABOUT RACHEL and DEATH BECOMES YOU.

Deanna is married and has two grown children. When not writing, she enjoys walking the wooded trails around her home with her beautiful Australian Shepherd or relaxing on the lake in the summer.

Deanna loves hearing from her readers. Connect with her at:

Her blog: deannalynnsletten.com
Twitter: @DeannaLSletten
Facebook: facebook.com/DeannaLynnSletten

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are numerous stories about Mrs. Sarah Winchester, the heir to the Winchester Rifle fortune and known for building Llanada Villa, a sprawling estate in California. Rumors had it that she built the house to trap the ghosts from men killed by Winchester rifles.
This book looks to tell the true story of Mrs. Winchester. It uses the typical multiple storyline. In this case, that involves three different POVs - her biographer in 1918, her own story and that of modern day relatives of the biographer. The book is very plainly written, simple almost and comes across as dry. I had difficulty getting interested in the story. Part of the problem was that everyone was so darn nice, the story lacked any sense of tension. It just sort of moseyed along. Present day Morgan is reading the biography. Every time she gushed over the manuscript, I wondered if she was reading the same thing I was. Sarah Winchester seemed like a wonderful person and she certainly suffered more than her share of losses. But that didn’t make for an engaging story. Having researched information on her house, I wish the book had spent more time on it.

[Crystal FloridaGrams Of3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful work of art. You get 3 points of view from 3 different people (and you don't confuse anyone with the different viewpoints) One from Morgan in today's world. Her mother finds the manuscript about Sarah Winchester. Then the perspective of Olivia, who is Morgan's great, great, great grandmother. There, you get Sarah's life story. It's a wonderful story, and I now feel guilty about thinking Sarah was crazy. I now understand so much (I did a deep dive on the internet, and wow, this is pretty spot on)
I think this is my favorite historical fiction I've ever read.

[Susan (The Book Bag) · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I enjoy most when reading historical fiction is the knowledge I get about the topic I'm reading about. I was not the best student in school but I loved to read so when an author can put a fictionalize spin on the past, I am captivated.

Deanna does an excellent job of humanizing a person and making a place and time real to me in Mrs. Winchester's Biographer. I knew nothing at all about Sarah Winchester and the life she led or how ostracized she was for the solitary life she chose to live. After reading this wonderful story, I want to know more about her and her amazing life.

I loved all of the characters of this intertwined tale of generations, from Sarah, all the way to Morgan, the great-great-granddaughter of the biographer, Olivia. I loved how the generations of women found themselves connected. Side note: I wonder how much each of us could find out about our ancestors that would be just as intriguing if only past stories and lives were shared with future generations. It is sad to think about how much of our history is being lost.

I have loved all of Deanna's stories and as usual, her latest one is always my new favorite! How does she do that?

If you love historical fiction, if you love biographies, if you love stories about strong women persevering through tough times, if you love generational stories tying women together resulting in a fantastic, engrossing tale, you need to read Mrs. Winchester's Biographer. It will totally be a satisfying read for you! Definitely ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'s for me!

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

An attempt to rehabilitate Mrs Winchester. Maybe she just likes to have rooms to furnish and decorate? Looks like she did a lot of the architectural planning herself. That might account for hallways to nowhere and windows that don’t face outside but into other rooms? This is a dual timeline story. There were actually three stories being told here. One if them was very boring. The other two are about Mrs. Winchester and her biographer.

[J.E. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way the author weaved history and current time in this dual time historical novel about Mrs. Winchester so seamlessly. I have personally toured the Winchester House and have been interested in her life story.

The story is well-written and had everything I look for in a historical novel and more. There were secrets to uncover, characters that had many layers, and a terrific time in history to explore. There were times when I had tears in my eyes with sadness, but then the story was balanced out with joy, family, gratitude, forgiveness and a romance.

The author did a fabulous job bringing it all together. The ending wrapped up everything nicely and had a few surprises. I highly recommend it.

[Jennifer Ribble · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t normally add reviews to my ratings, but this time I just have to add some context. This would likely be an interesting story if the writing was better, but it reads like a sixth grade book report. Minimal character development, SO MANY repetitive phrases, simple and boring sentence construction, and even numerous typos. If I’d seen one more “delicious meal,” this might’ve been a DNF for me. Two stars may be a little harsh, but it’s shocking to me that the average rating is over 4.3.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for me.
It was a wonderful read with multiple POV's. Olivia is a single pregnant woman in the early 1900's hired and taken in by Sarah to live there and help create her manuscript. Olivias great great granddaughter finds the script and is considering getting it published at the publishing house she worked at. Deanna Lynn Sletten hit another home run with this book. I only give it 4.5 stars because the number of other family members in the story was sometimes confusing (Keeping track of them all). With that said very heartwarming story I highly recommend.

[Sarah Messenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was very simple but I really enjoyed the story and life of Mrs Winchester.

[Cheryl Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Well written story about the life of Sarah Winchester. Even though told through three timelines, the story was easy to follow. Great, friendly characters. Due to many sleepless nights, I had a hard time staying awake while reading this. My fault not Ms. Sletten. Due to that fact, it was hard to get into. Luckily, the last third of the book I found hard to put down.

This is the third book by this author and I look forward to reading more by her.

[Linda Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful historical fictional accounting of Sarah Winchester, heiress of the Winchester Rifle fortune. She was quite the strong woman, extraordinarily generous, had to deal with so much personal loss in her life. She was shy about presenting herself in public, so the press reported so many lies and untruths about her life. She decided in her latter years, to hire a secretary to write her biography, which took several years. So the story is much about the secretary who kept a carbon copy of the manuscript, which was found by her granddaughter and then published by her great granddaughter. Interesting story for sure!

[Dianne Daunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming and heartbreaking

What I liked best about this book was all of the many relationships described in what felt honest and empathetic ways. The book is written with two different timeframes, one timeline was Mrs. Winchester telling the story of her life. The second timeline was written in today’s timeline and what has and is happening with the biographer.
I learned a great deal about what was like in the 1890’s clear through to the mid 1920’s. This was historical fiction at its finest.
For me it was a quick easy fascinating read. I purchased it late one afternoon and finished it early the next evening. For me, the author made it easy to care about each individual and their relationships.

[Anne Peugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting!

Everyone's heard about the Winchester house, but how many people actually did any research about the person who built it? This is a work of fiction but reads like the real thing. I want to go visit the house!

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Sarah Winchester always intrigued me. Was she a lunatic or a person painted as one? A misunderstood woman of the era or someone that was just too eccentric for the time in which she lived? There are three different timelines throughout out this book, Sarah Winchester, Olivia her secretary during the late 1910s that transcribes Sarah's biography, and Morgan, a modern-day descendant of Olivia that just so happens to work at a floundering publishing company in the Bay area. I was hoping this book would shed some light into the real life of the Winchester Heiress, but it seems its sole purpose was to reiterate over and over (and over and over) again that Sarah Winchester was a good person with a heart of gold. The author seemingly RAN from the notion that Sarah Winchester had a reputation of being mad, and I feel there was something lacking in this book because of that. While on the surface, I am happy with the version of Sarah Winchester the author chose to portray, deep down I feel there should have been a bit more word play and mention of said reputation. Maybe I had hoped she would have made Sarah's character a bit more tongue and cheek about what the public thought of her? There seemed to have been some moments that were missed because the author wanted to get her point across that the heiress of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company wanted to only care for those close to her and not a complete psychopath. Oliva, an ancestor of the main character Morgan, had an interesting predicament that many women of the time likely found themselves in being with child out of wedlock and subsequently abandoned. There is a line in the book that goes something like "men are to sew their wild oats but can't do so without women..." and it talks about the double standard that women are seen as lesser people when they are compromised although it is the men who do the compromising. I cannot find the line now, but it was quite profound. On the other hand, the love interest of Olivia cuts ties to her, rudely I might add, not once but twice. Olivia is left in shambles both times and gladly takes the man back after he abandons her, twice. Talk about a look into what their marriage may be like. I digress, most of Olivia's timeline is her talking about how she is not fit for the kindness of Mrs. Winchester and how much everyone that works for the heiress loves her. It's quite redundant. I feel that there could have been more intriguing details included in the other timelines instead of repeating the same details about Winchester's "selflessness" throughout Olivia's.
Morgan's timeline is interesting as she is the person who reads the manuscript. The antagonist of the book Amanda, if you can call her that, really didn't have much page time and her character seems lost in the mix. There was a small climax towards the end with an outcome I could see coming from a mile away. Morgan's love interest and their story is very sweet, and I think could have used more building up. All in all, this book was a bit redundant, predictable and the author missed some moments that would have made this book impossible to put down. It was easy to put down unfortunately. An easy, quick read that keeps you hoping something will catch you and not let go.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably really rate this a 3.5. This was a split time story.
The overall story was good and I looked up Sarah Winchester and read a bit about her online and her parts of the story seemed to be based very closely on fact. I do think the author would have been better off to have Sarah's parts written in a different POV. Something about those sections just seemed off. In the parts that were her story, she was dictating it to Olivia, so I think it would have flowed better and felt more natural if it had been written as if she was talking about herself ...

e.g. instead of: (from chapter 25, page 245)
"Without Frank to drive her around, Sarah shut down the harbor project in Burlingame, docked the houseboat in the water, and hired a caretaker to watch over it. She'd lost interest in the great San Francisco rejuvenation project. Perhaps it was time to just settle down into old age."

something like this:
"Without Frank to drive me around, I decided to just down the harbor project in Burlingame and dock the houseboat in the water and I hired a caretaker to watch over it. I'd lost interest in the great San Francisco rejuvenation project, and I began to think perhaps it was time to just settle down into old age."

I also felt like the ending lacked something. I really expected all through the book, that the modern day timeline main character was going to find out something more ... something big in relation to the connection between her great-grandmother and Mrs. Winchester, or that some big "secret" would be revealed as to why the manuscript had never been previously published.

Again, overall a decent story. This isn't the first book I've read by Ms. Sletten, and it won't be the last, I was just a little bit disappointed in this one.

[Teresa Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow just Wow!

Unbelievable all this time I believed all the sordid tales of Sarah Winchester and now I'm in awe that those stories may not be true. It would make sense that they would go after a wealthy woman who appeared to want to remain a widow and was strong willed. Living in the 21st century dealing with the media should have known not all things are true that they say. A good book, which this one was, makes you search out for more information and Sarah Winchester on Wikipedia basically states what was in this book which is a far cry from what we had heard and read about Sarah Winchester from the media. The more I gave thought the more it dawned on me that all the Paranormal shows I watched that was about Sarah Winchester or the Winchester mystery house not one mentioned the earthquake or that Sarah Winchester loved architecture and remodeling. After reading this novel Sarah Winchester has become an icon for me. I totally recommend this book and I'm not asking for you to believe the things in it but to keep an open mind and never forget their are 2 sides to every story and here is Sarah Winchester's side inside this book.

[♏ Gina☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is extremely well written, grabbed my attention, and held it throughout. The main characters are Morgan, Olivia (Morgan's great-great granddaughter, and Sarah Winchester (an extremely wealthy, elderly widow of the Winchester Rifle family, which her husband founded).

Morgan works for a publishing company and is quite successful at determining what books will sell and what authors are worth chasing. While cleaning some of her mother's things, she came across a box that had been saved by her great-great grandmother years ago, who worked for Sarah Winchester as her official biographer in her later years. The press had not been kind to Mrs. Winchester and there were many horrific lies printed about her. In real life, she was extremely kind and extremely generous to people employed by her and to people in need, including Olivia. Without Mrs. Winchester, Olivia's life would have turned out much differently, and most likely, disastrous.

The novel goes back and forth between Morgan in current time, and Olivia in Mrs. Winchester's time.

I look forward to reading more books by this author. I highly recommend this one.

[Cara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw this book recommended on a historical fiction social media group, and several people had agreed it was a “page turner.” I visited the Winchester Mansion years ago so I was excited but my library didn’t have it so I purchased it, which is the only reason I bothered to finish this book. After the first few chapters I started to looking to see what company published it and how it got by professional editors and couldn’t find any. As a historical fiction account of Sarah Winchester it doesn’t provide much more information than you can read on Wikipedia and the Winchester house website. I don’t know if there aren’t biographies or primary sources to draw from but the whole point of historical fiction is to fill in the gaps but that isn’t done here. There is a little bit of very bland interactions between Sarah and her family, and then the author moves the story along in what reads like a book report particularly in the second half of the book. There is also a 1918 to 1922 storyline as Mrs Winchester tells her story to Olivia to type up, as well as a modern one has a relative finding the manuscript that were predictable. The writing over all is basic and amateurish.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story of Sarah Winchester, especially the author's notes at the end (what was historically accurate and what was fictional). She was loved and adored by her staff, treating them as family members (even leaving provisions for them in her will). She suffered so much traumatic personal loss in her life, outliving everyone on both sides of her family. It was also quite interesting to read the author's speculation on why there was so much negative press surrounding her- because she was an incredibly wealthy woman who lived life on her own terms (not in "need" of a man after her husband passed away, in days where that just did not occur). This could have caused a jealous stir among the men of society, and as all newspapers were owned and operated by men at that time, they did not hesitate to print their opinions.

The reason I did not give the book a higher rating is because the writing was very simple. There was no variety to the sentence structure and it seemed to be written for/by a younger reader.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

History has been created by some strong women

This book follows the life of Sarah Winchester of the Winchester Rifle family. Sarah married into the family, though was already a very independent woman with a keen business sense that just grew and grew over the decades. Due to the time period of this historical fiction, we travel through the 1800’s pain and suffering due to lack of medical care. The Spanish Flu, early deaths, loss, family, obstacles, wars and more occur throughout Sarah’s life, yet one thing that stands the test of time, is her compassion and generosity toward her family. She decided to have her autobiography written and we follow the current day story of her relative discovering the treasure of the autobiography, to the story of the woman writing it. Love strong woman characters, who aren’t afraid to be themselves, to stand firm in defying gender roles, and manage to demonstrate resilience and strength. I will look for more by this author.

[jeannette Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean38no

An amazing biography about Sarah Winchester. I love how the author made Sarah a very likable and passionate women. She appears to be very much ahead of her time. She continued to administer the Winchester fortune she had inherited after her beloved husband William died. She appears to have a love of building inherited from her father. She bought a farmhouse in California and started adding additions to it for apparently 38 years. The author gives the reason that, she was trying to accommodate her whole family . This author shows Sarah as generous and very devoted to her family. Her Winchester in -laws and her family. She bought many properties for them. She was a recluse . So many newspaper stories were made up about her. I really enjoyed this book . Any historical buff will enjoy this book

[Patricia Ibarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Winchester was the heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune. In society and in the press, she has been described as a snob, spiritualist, crazy, despot, and much more, but she has seldom been involved or paid attention to this gossip. She has lived a life of grief and happiness, but thanks to her fortune, she has led a great and generous life. But only she knows her personal truth. Her latest project is to write her autobiography for her heirs. She suffers from arthritis and needs a secretary. A young girl was recommended to her, Olivia Collins. The problem is that she is pregnant and unmarried, but Sarah is open-minded and is willing to work with her. They get on well and work diligently, becoming good friends. Morgan Connors, Sarah's great great grandaugher, finds her writing and decides to make it public. An entertaining read.

[Carmen Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Other Side

I've heard the popular stories about the crazy lady with the creepy mansion. I watched the movie, too. This book isn't that story. They say every story has two sides. Well, this is the other side. This is much more credible and presents Mrs Winchester as intelligent, modern, and adventurous. I loved that this was a TRIPLE timeline vs the dual timeline I love to read. It was like dual timeline with a bonus timeline. Don't let that stop you from reading this. The author did an excellent job in presenting this story in a format that flows and keeps the reader interested.

[Renee Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun to read and definitely was both intriguing and thought-provoking. Since I have been to the Winchester Mansion, it was very easy for me to picture the setting. I wished certain aspects weren't only fiction; like why she kept building on to her house (truth - she had lost her mind and became superstitious vs. legend - that she just liked architecture and continually doing projects). While I did enjoy the book, at times it was difficult to decipher known facts and story-based exaggerations.

Favorite Quote:
"Doing the right thing isn't always the easiest thing, though." (Mrs. Winchester, p. 256)

[Marianne Lopapa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review:

I don't generally read historical books ...This one was a treasure though...Beautifully written about an extraordinary woman and her wonderful life ...She was truly a visionary and guarded her privacy but took care of her family and everyone around her....I absolutely loved Sarah Winchester as did everyone else who ever came in contact with her ...She was truly a remarkable person and left behind a wonderful legacy for generations to come ....A great read and I absolutely adored it all the character's were special ....Thanks so much for the entertaining read I will remember it fondly ....M.L.😊

[cola bevington · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's worth reading It's an interesting take on Sarah Winchester's life And those that surrounded her

I've always been interested in the Winchester manor. This book was a surprise It was a different story than i had heard most of my life. It poses interesting questions There is Biographer That Also contends that this is closer to the real story Then the 1 that has been published for years. It's definitely worth reading it is not an edge of your seat shattering page turner however it was enjoyable.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually do not like historical fiction novels that start in the future and then jump back and forth between the present POV and the past. HOWEVER, this book was the exception. The author did such a wonderful job of paralleling the stories of Sarah, Olivia, and Morgan, and there was a good balance of switching between perspectives. I was so immersed in Sarah Winchester’s story and it came alive in a way that some historical fiction novels fall flat in.

[Michelle Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening!

This is such a great book! Finally we learn the true story of the Winchester house! Really too bad the press made up such ridiculous accusations that she was afraid of ghosts and all. She probably wouldn't have been such a recluse if they hadn't. What a wonderful women with such a generous heart. She had a great outlook on life even though she suffered many heart aches.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having visited the Winchester Mystery House (as it was then known) in the '70's, I was drawn to this book. The descriptions of the rooms, architecture, and items stored - Tiffany windows - are accurate.
This is a novel, but based on a real family.
The author makes an interesting case for the history of Mrs. Winchester's life before, during, and after her wealth, obviously not all of this is true, or could it be?
Mystery continues...

[Kymm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting story about Sarah Winchester, wife of rifle magnate William Winchester. She was much maligned in the press, but no one really knew who she was and what she was all about. Turns out, like so many others, she was nothing like the rumors and was a caring and extremely generous woman who took care of her family, staff and friends. She was truly a remarkable woman. Happy Reading!

[R. Hollis]

A terrific read

Of course I know the story of the house that ghosts built. Now I want to research and find out more about the marvelous Sarah Winchester! She comes alive throughout the book, and more than once her story left me in tears. The things she survived, the tragedy she endured, is incredible and Deanna Sletten does a beautiful job