A Short Time to Stay Here

The Stephen Robbins Chronicles #1

by Terry Roberts

The summer of 1917 should have been a summer like any other. Stephen Robbins should have been doing the same thing he'd been doing for years past. As a young boy he'd fled his life in a secluded mountain cove and risen through the ranks to become the manager of the South's finest resort, the elegant Mountain Park Hotel. By all rights, he should have spent this summer as host to some of the wealthiest gentry on the East Coast. Hans Ruser, German Commodore of the world's largest and most luxurious cruise liner, Vaderland, should have been sailing yet again with his elite passengers to the far corners of the world. And Anna Ulmann, captivating and beautiful, should have been at home in her New York mansion planning yet another lavish dinner party for her famous husband and his rich and powerful friends. She should have idled away her spare time by taking perfectly staged photographic portraits of the very same people.

But war will change everything that should have been in that summer of 1917— the U.S. enters WWI and the Mountain Park Hotel is pressed into service as an internment camp for over 2,000 German nationals, including Ruser and his men. This sudden collision of lives and cultures in the small town of Hot Springs, North Carolina is both frightening and exhilarating. And the unlikely alliance that forms between Hans Ruser and Stephen Robbins will force each to decide just how far they are willing to go to keep peace in the beautiful and isolated mountains. Feisty Anna Ulmann, seeking to assert her independence in a male-dominated world, mysteriously flees south to devote her life to documentary photography. When she steps off the train at the Hot Springs depot one sultry summer day, she could not have imagined the passionate journey that will result when she matches wits with Stephen Robbins. Haunted by demons both past and present, they will face heartbreaking tragedy. Yet together they will discover the true meaning of imprisonment and escape.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, American History, World War I, Historical, Book Club

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 9, 2012

About the author

Terry Roberts is the author of seven celebrated novels: A Short Time to Stay Here (winner of the Willie Morris Prize for Southern Fiction and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction); That Bright Land (winner of the Thomas Wolfe Literary Award, the James Still Award for Writing About the Appalachian South and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction); and, The Holy Ghost Speakeasy and Revival (a finalist for the 2019 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction), My Mistress’ Eyes are Raven Black (Finalist for the 2022 Best Paperback Original Novel by the International Thriller Writers Organization), The Sky Club (a finalist for the 2023 Thomas Wolfe Literary Award), The Devil Hath a Pleasing Shape, and In the Fullness of Time.

Roberts is a lifelong teacher and educational reformer as well as an award-winning novelist. He is a native of the mountains of Western North Carolina—born and bred. His ancestors include six generations of mountain farmers, as well as the bootleggers and preachers who appear in his novels. He was raised close by his grandmother, Belva Anderson Roberts, who was born in 1888 and passed to him the magic of the past along with the grit and humor of mountain story telling.

Roberts is the Director of the National Paideia Center and lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife, Lynn.

Reviews

[joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of meeting the author during a DAR meeting in January. Before his introduction, I had no idea that the Mountain Park Hotel in Hot Springs had been converted into a WWI internment camp. This was such an interesting book - a love story within a war story. It is full of delightful characters (Anna & Prince) as well as villains (Roy Robbins).

There are many visual treasures that transport the reader right to the heart of these mountains. "Winter in the mountains. In Western North Carolina, winter turns the world gray and brown. White? In a storm, yes, with snow and ice, but for the most part, the river turns a rock-quarry gray and all the woods the color of bark and crumbling leaf. The air is ghostly with wood smoke and rich with the pungent odor or rotting leaves. The fluid of yellow sunlight seeps into the corners of the sky, the green sap sinks down into the ground, and what life is left in between - even human life - dies back into a shadow of its summer self." Lovely.

I really enjoyed the many references to Asheville. I believe I'll choose a spring morning very soon and make the 45 minute drive to Hot Springs - just to explore.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lifelong North Carolinian I was surprised to discover a fascinating piece of history in A Short Time to Stay Here. I was unaware of the internment camp in Hot Springs and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the summer of 1917 high in the mountains of North Carolina. I loved the story of Stephen and Anna which was masterfully woven into the larger story of the intersect of cultures in the small mountain town. Since reading the book I have taken several trips to Hot Springs. The area is just as beautiful today as it was in Terry Roberts' description of western North Carolina dating back nearly one hundred years. The book is an excellent read and Hot Springs is a wonderful place to visit.

[Pat Mckee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a part-time resident of Hot Springs NC, I found this book both entertaining and enlightening. It took me back to the time when the property on which the current Hot Springs Spa sits was occupied by Germans in an internment camp that was housed in the beautiful old Mountain Park Hotel, a resort frequented by the rich and famous, who came to "take the cure" and to golf on one of NC's first golf courses. The resort is long-gone but the memories of the Germans remain for those who live in the area. The main character in the book is a charming, gentle man by the name of Stephen Robbins. He was once the manager of the hotel but became the supervisor of the internment camp before it closed.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in Western North Carolina, near Asheville, and love learning about the history of my adopted state, whether in fiction or nonfiction.

A Short Time To Stay here is a fictionalized account set in the time of WWI, when German prisoners were interned in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The person in charge of their camp is a burnt-out, heavy-drinking man who seems to have little to live for. Add some family feuds (always popular here in the South), some romance (a photographer from NYC), and you have a very interesting read.

[Wendi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this historical fiction. Based in Hot Springs, NC--it actually drew me to visit and explore the site of the story's inspiration. An evocative read, providing clear pictures of life long ago, including the surprise of 2000 Germans in a tiny mountain town during the war...

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Turner Publishing Company through Edelweiss. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

If you have an interest in Appalachian North Carolina, obscure parts of World War I history, or solidly written stories that blend family conflict, culture classes, the interaction between war and society, or satisfying and bittersweet romance, this is a well-written and page-turning piece of literary fiction that ought to be of interest. Coming squarely in the compelling based on a true story tradition, this particular novel has at its heart a series of complicated relationships in a rural North Carolina luxury hotel that happens to have been chosen for some reason by the War Department as an internment camp for members of the German merchant marine after our entry into World War I. A North Carolina native himself, the author captures the complicated interplay between family politics, local politics, service politics within the internees, national politics, and geopolitics in a convincing fashion as alcoholic hotel manager Stephen Robbins attempts to deal with the hostility of his cousin the local sheriff, pursues an awkward but couching courtship with a married but separated New York amateur photographer Anna Ullman, and tries to keep his job even as he navigates the demands of the War Department and moves from a hotel manager used to being invisible to the warden of a swanky and awkward rural prison camp.

It would be hard to imagine a more Nathanish novel, but for whatever reason literary fiction tends to produce Nathanish novels with some regularity [1]. Among the reasons why this novel excels is that it contains excellent characterization along with an exciting plot. It is unclear whether the characters could be considered fully round, but they are certainly complex people with mixed motivations in terms of career, longings, and the burdens of their heart. Stephen Robbins is a hotel manager and local Johannes Factotum who happened to be a poor local boy made good through extensive reading as self-education in order to better serve the cultured outsiders who patronized his hotel and who got his job as a result of the largess of his former father-in-law, but who is also a functioning alcoholic who self-medicates to dull the longings of a passionate and sensitive heart. Anna Ullman, who has a meet cute at the village's railway depot where she confuses Stephen for the hired help, is a privileged New York woman estranged from her psychologist husband who treats her like a fragile porcelain doll. It should therefore come as little surprise that the two fall in love and that everyone else should be in on the secret before Stephen himself realizes it. Meanwhile, Robbins' father-in-law dies, leaving his eldest son in charge of his business empire and Stephen's job hanging by a thread, even while he attempts to deal with the hotheaded German sailors in his midst and attempts by some locals to kill the internees, and as he navigates the tension between the demands of his job and the pressures of his new boss, the local politics of the area, his desires for increased intimacy with Anna, and the shadowy spycraft of the War Department, all of which vie for his attention and test his resources and resilience.

These various and tangled threads all come to a head in a satisfying climax which I will not spoil except to say that someone ends up dead, someone ends up running away for reasons of espionage, someone ends up on trial, and the novel ends with a sense of hope with the possibility of renewal and a chance at happiness for the characters we most care about. This is a successful novel, successful as a look at an obscure part of history, successful at conveying the reality of PTSD and the horrors of war and the longing for love and peace, intimacy and wholeness and family in a world that so often cruelly mocks our hopes and longings. This is the sort of fiction that wins awards, that charms readers who appreciate strong literary fiction, and at about 300 pages makes for the sort of novel one wants to complete if possible in a day, to set aside hours for to get lost in the world of the incongruous rural North Carolina hotel and its denizens, to see if everyone will make it out alright, even the prisoners themselves. If you love reading about the mountains, and want to see some damaged but mostly decent people find some happiness in a world that seems pitted against them, it is hard to imagine a better novel than this one, which manages to stay mostly on the sweet side of bittersweet, and end up as a compelling but ultimately hopeful novel that reminds us of the common humanity held by strangers of many kinds.

[1] See, for example:

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[John Keenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful book. Mr. Roberts has a way of descriptive that is down to earth (if you'll forgive the cliché), simple yet artful. And I can't remember the last book that caused me to laugh out loud on several occasions throughout the story.
I might could say that the end of the story went into fast forward motion, but one might could argue that the story was largely at it's just end anyway. Overall it was an enjoyable story. That it was

[Ann Robinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written descriptions, dialogue and well drawn characters are three of this books best qualities. Very interesting story based on historical facts about the internment of 2300+Germans in WNC during WWI. Thought provoking.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of cultures, of conflict, of resolution, and of love. Stephen and Anna give me hope that real and true love exists and lasts, even amid war and clashing cultures. Beautifully written.

[Amy Manikowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - the setting, the characters, the historical aspect. A great glimpse into an interesting time in the nations history and the history of Hot Springs.

[Kris McCracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terry Roberts' "A Short Time to Stay Here" transports you to the idyllic mountain setting of Hot Springs, North Carolina, during the tumultuous backdrop of World War I. The lush descriptions paint a vivid picture of the town, its natural beauty a stark contrast to the simmering tensions of the time.

The story revolves around Stephen Robbins, a tired man who manages a once-grand hotel now serving as an internment camp for German citizens. While the supporting characters are a compelling mix of flawed individuals, Stephen is too good to be true. His unwavering sense of morality and stoicism occasionally border on saintliness, making him less relatable than the rest of the cast.

Despite the somewhat one-dimensional protagonist, "A Short Time to Stay Here" offers a captivating look at a lesser-known historical event. The interweaving narratives of diverse characters and exploring themes like prejudice and cultural clashes make for a thought-provoking read. If you're looking for a historical novel with a strong sense of place and a thought-provoking narrative, this one is your cup of tea, even if the central character leaves you wanting a touch more complexity.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

[Kae Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the look into the WWI era and especially the setting of Hot Springs, NC

[Tom Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story takes place during World War I and the setting is the mountains of North Carolina. Stephen Robbins is running a containment camp for German sailors at the hotel that he had been managing before the war. In the midst of this, Anna Ulmann, a woman from New York, shows up and requests to take pictures of the internees as well as the people living in the mountain community surrounding the hotel. Stephen and Anna slowly develop a loving relationship until their peaceful time together is interrupted by Bishop's cousin, the local sheriff, works with the owner of the inn that Bishop is managing to bring Stephen down. The book carefully paints a picture of a closed community in the mountains and how the life of each individual in that community is intertwined, for better or worse, with everyone else's life. The story of the Stephen and Anna's love and what happens to it when disaster strikes makes for an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Nancy Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This historical novel is based on an actual event, when at the outbreak of World War I, a resort hotel in the mountains of North Carolina was converted into an interment camp for German nationals who were stranded in American when conflict broke out. On this factual foundation, the author creates a story involving the hotel manager, who has to emerge from his alcoholic haze when he's placed in charge of the camp in order to manage tension between the camp and the community, as well as a female photographer (a rarity in that time) come from New York to document the camp and surrounding area, and assorted family feuds. Not surprisingly, the initial peaceful coexistence doesn't last long. Some characters are better developed than others, and a pivotal character oddly remains little more than a caricature, but overall it's a good if not stellar story.

[Sherri Fryer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a well written story of a time and place that I know nothing about. I never knew that there were Germans in the US during World War One. I started reading the book and found it very hard to put it down. The characters in the story were well written and seemed like people that you might meet in a small town such as Hot Springs, or perhaps a great many small towns in NC. If you get the chance to read this book, I highly recommend that you do !

Thank you to Turner Publishing for the opportunity to enter their giveaway for this book, and for making me a winner ! I would also like to say Thank You to Terry Roberts for writing such a great story!

[George Hovis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Roberts is the best kind of historical novelist—one who unearths buried stories, overlooked places that most of us have never visited, thereby forcing us to reconsider the neat categories that inform the present. Not only does Roberts offer historical accuracy in his narrative of a WW I-era German internment camp located in Hot Springs, North Carolina, but he also provides a revealing portrait of race relations in the mountain South. And there’s a compelling and convincing love story! Not to be missed!

[Patricia Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

WWI, 1917 Mountain Park Hotel in Hot Springs, NC, is converted to space for over 2,000 German internees, primarily German sailors who were in US at start of the war. Good explanation of how the Germans were handled, interactions between mountain and town folks and the Germans with family grudges and love story woven into the historical background. Descriptive and reflective. Author grew up in the area and he captures well the feel of Western North Carolina, the fog and rain, the French Broad River, the hidden springs, the wildness of the people but also their loyalty.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting historical love story set in a snapshot of time we seldom read about. The internment of German soldiers in North Carolina has not received a lot of attention and it's good to see it brought forward in a carefully written way. Lovely characters (especially Anna) and setting made this a very good read. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC of the reissue. Hopefully others will see this on must-read lists and pick it up.

[Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I have to reiterate that this is why Goodreads needs a half star scale. I recently read a book that I gave a 4, but would realistically score a 4.5. This wasn't as good so I can't in good conscience give it the same rating, but it's better than some 3 stars book I've read.

[Suzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

why did no one ever tell me about this book??

[Ray Metz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read with some history, some good story telling and a surprisingly good love story. I was curious about this because there really was a hotel used for this purpose in this little town.

While I knew this “camp” existed, I never thought what it might mean to people living inside and out. Terry does a great job of creating some of that.

Writing - 8
Story - 8
Love story - 9
Characters - 8
Readability - 8

Because I really like the love interest main characters, I’m glad to see this is book 1 in a series.

“They ain’t people.” There was outright hatred in her voice. “Them in that camp. Only Germans.”

“… The history in books is not the history that matters. For that history will not tell of women and children. It will not tell of the two who died of typhoid.” He pointed at the Wade Hampton cottage, just 50 feet away. “It will not tell of the boy you buried, the boy you loved.”

“…. It will not say the story of the little girl who always waves to me from the other side of the fence as she walks home from school. Each day she waves, and it is her war because the guard tells me that her father was among the first from this town to go to your army. If he dies, it will be the thing that signs her life. This is her war, and she doesn’t even know it..”

“… Although the history books of the great men will never tell it, the war is inside us. And so we build to deny it..”

“And I think that simple kindness – kindness, nothing more – has to be reborn in the world.”

“Hell of a place, that North Carolina.”

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Little Known WWII Story in the Mountains of North Carolina

Stephen Robbins, the alcoholic manager of the Mountain Park Hotel in Hot Springs, North Carolina, has a new responsibility. His hotel has become an interment camp for German merchant marine officers and men whose ship was unable to get away from the US before war was declared.

The officers and men are allowed freedom to conduct classes and build a replica of a German village. After the first attempted escape, Stephen manages to keep things relatively calm in spite of his cousin Roy, the local sheriff. He and Roy have been enemies for a long time.

Add to the mix, a well known photographer, Anna Ulmann, who arrives to take pictures of the Germans. Stephen tries to resist her charms, but as pressure mounts on the camp, they become partners and a romance ensues.

The descriptions in this book are wonderful. I believe the author loves the North Carolina area. He uses the background perfectly to support the story.

Stephen is a well drawn character. He struggles against loneliness and alcoholism. Being very intelligent, he is different from the backwoods characters that are part of the background in the mountains.

The book is well written. The prose draws you in to the story and paints a vivid picture of this little known segment of American history.

I received this book from Turner Publishing for this review.

[Sam A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book based on the praise of such fine Southern writers as Lee Smith, Robert Morgan, Elizabeth Spencer, John Ehle and Doris Betts. The praise was not unfounded as Roberts' skill as a storyteller ranks him very high in my estimation after reading this book. The story tells of a grand hotel in Hot Springs, North Carolina that is converted into a POW camp for German soldiers in World War One and Stephen Robbins, the manager of that hotel and has now been appointed camp commandant. Robbins is the protege of the hotel's owner, Major Jack Rumbough who has basically raised Robbins as his own. Stephen faces two particular enemies following the Major's death, one being the Major's eldest son Edwin and Stephen's own cousin, Roy Robbins the local sheriff who hates Stephen for killing his brother Nathan who was drunk and had violently attacked one of the hotel's employees. Ed resents Stephen relationship with the Major and wants to have Stephen fired. Anna Ulmann, a New York City photographer has come to Hot Springs to photograph the prison camp and also the native mountain folk. A romantic relationship develops with Anna, Roy continues to plot against Stephen and the plot thickens. I'm simplifying a complex plot of what is a finely written novel about a locale that is well know to the author since is home town. I've added it to my favorites list.

[Michael Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Roberts's A SHORT TIME TO STAY HERE is a terrific historical novel set in a storied place that has, as yet, received too little attention. Roberts takes advantage of the rich early-20th-century history of Hot Springs, North Carolina, to tell a story of love and friendship and struggle against the backdrop of a troubled micro- and macrocosmic world. World War I is shaking the foundations of the Western world; in Madison County, NC, a villainous sheriff creates havoc and no small amount of fear through various abuses of his office. Roberts brings to life a collection of people ranging from backwoods Appalachian folk to the residents of the small mountain town and its Mountain Park Hotel to German prisoners of war interned for a period at the resort.

All of this is brought to life through the voice of Roberts's bigger-than-life creation Stephen Robbins, manager of the Mountain Park. Robbins's narrative voice is lyrical and engaging, rich with the rhythms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and, at the same time, surprisingly and gratifyingly sensual in his interactions with best friend Prince and best girl and love interest Anna Ulmann--both creations nearly as wonderful as Robbins himself.

[Arrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fascinating WW-I true story of how the South's most elegant mountain resort, the Mountain Park Hotel in NC's Great Smoky Mountains, is turned into a German interment camp, housing the captain and crew of a German luxury liner Vaderland, impounded when WW-I breaks out. 2,000 other German nationals too! Complicating things is the presence of bored NY socialite Anna Ulmann, who decides to leave home and become a documentary photographer, stepping off the train in Hot Springs, NC just in time to make things interesting. A love story, historical fiction, actual history, and more. I promise anyone truly interested in NC history or its mountains or WW-I or love (or all four!) will enjoy this book.

I met the author during a UNC Friends of the Library reading and book signing, and enjoyed visiting with him about this fascinating true story. By the way, the Mountain Park Hotel still exists as the Hot Springs Spa.

[Deborah Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living in Western North Carolina and knowing about the German civilians in Hot Springs, I thorough enjoyed this book. Straight forward with grace. Fictional account of true events. The crew, officers, and orchestra of a large German luxury liner was docked in NYC when war was declared. The Germans were sequestered at a former luxury hotel deep in the Appalachian mountains accessible by train.among other places through the South.

[David Gramley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second great novel from this author. I live in the Asheville area and find the historical fiction aspect most interesting. This is a well told story of hard times, or love, of friendships and of doing the right things. Stephen Robbin’s is a flawed character in some aspects, but brave in all aspects. His love for Anna pulls you with him as it grows throughout this book. I look forward to the next books k n this series.

[Jaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. An interesting historical fiction book. I didn’t know about these German internment camps, which is a fascinating piece of history. For those who enjoy war fiction and a good love story, this is the book for you; however it’s not my cup of tea.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Sarah Toppins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terry Martin has written a very interesting novel about the manager of a luxury hotel who must turn his site into a German internment camp during World War II. The manager meets a female photographer looking for freedom from a domineering husband and a chance to show her artistry. They have a very romantic tryst against the background of mysteries caused by the locals against the Germans.

[Scott Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, brilliant, descriptive, intelligent writing here. Fiction, history, romance, mystery, crime, war, geography, justice all woven wonderfully together in a rich and moving narrative. This book earns my highest marks!