About the Author
Rachel Beanland is the acclaimed author of two novels, The House Is On Fire and Florence Adler Swims Forever. Her latest work, The House Is On Fire, is a gripping historical novel that reimagines the true events of the 1811 Richmond Theatre fire. Told through the perspectives of four compelling narrators, the novel explores themes of survival, courage, and the complex web of societal constraints that defined early 19th-century Virginia. The book was widely celebrated, earning recognition as an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, a ‘GMA Buzz Pick’ by Good Morning America, and one of the best books of 2023 by NPR and The New Yorker.
Rachel Beanland’s debut novel, Florence Adler Swims Forever, is a poignant family saga set in 1934 Atlantic City, where three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance, and long-buried secrets over the course of one summer. Based on a true story, the novel begins with a shocking tragedy that forces Esther Adler to make an unthinkable decision, pulling her family into a web of lies and hidden truths. Praised as “the perfect summer read” by USA Today, the book was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and won the National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction.
In addition to her fiction, Rachel Beanland’s essays have appeared in Lit Hub, Business Insider, Creative Nonfiction, and Broad Street. Her dedication to her craft has been recognized with a fellowship from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and residencies at prestigious institutions including the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Key West Literary Seminar.
An experienced speaker, Rachel Beanland delivers engaging talks that explore the intersection of history and storytelling, the art of crafting multi-narrative fiction, and the challenges of translating true events into compelling novels. She also speaks on the creative process, the importance of research in writing historical fiction, and her personal journey as a writer. With her thoughtful approach, Rachel Beanland leaves audiences inspired and eager to delve deeper into the world of writing.
Rachel Beanland has taught creative writing at the College of William & Mary, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Richmond, where she was the 2023-24 Writer-in-Residence. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University and a degree from the University of South Carolina. Rachel Beanland lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her family.
Contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau to book Rachel Beanland for speaking events as a keynote speaker on writing process and storytelling. Use the Request a Speaker form or email info@simonspeakers.com to speak to Rachel Beanland’s booking agent to request her speaking fee, booking information, and availability.
Raves and Reviews
The Half Life
A captivating, whip-smart novel about love, loyalty, and a woman torn between two lives. I utterly adored it.”
—Clare Leslie Hall, New York Times bestselling author of Broken Country
The Half Life is a page-turner. Historical in setting, but contemporary in emotional terrain, I felt immersed in the landscape of La Maddalena and in the lives of these characters from the very first page.”
—Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes
I can’t remember the last time I was as fully immersed in a book as I was in Rachel Beanland’s forthcoming novel, The Half Life; an effortlessly readable story of a young Navy wife’s journey to a remote duty station on the island of La Maddalena in the Mediterranean, and the awakening she experiences while living there. Often funny, and always astute in its examination of the unavoidable complexities of relationships, I found it deeply moving and endlessly entertaining. I could not recommend it more highly.”
—Kevin Powers, bestselling author of The Yellow Birds
Beanland has pulled some kind of magic trick with this novel—once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I was utterly transported to La Maddalena in the 1970s, and to the heart and mind of Eileen, a young woman navigating the dangerous waters of relationships bound by duty, power, and love. A gripping story of self-discovery that feels fresh and alive and utterly timeless, The Half Life is a masterful book. I genuinely lost sleep over it.”
—Simone Gorrindo, author of the Washington State Book finalist The Wives
The Half Life is a sexy tour-de-force fueled by one brave young woman who breaks all the rules and wins our hearts in the process. Beanland writes a heady and complex cast of hauntingly realized characters who not only offer an outpouring of both sizzling passions and stirring regrets, but bring new life to a lesser known period of American military history in Europe.”
—Lauren Francis-Sharma, author of Casualties of Truth
The House Is on Fire
The Richmond Theatre fire of 1811 was, at the time, the deadliest disaster in U.S. history, killing seventy-two. This historical novel examines the event and its aftermath through four figures: the stagehand who accidentally starts the fire; a well-to-do widow in a box seat; an enslaved young woman, attending with her mistress but confined to the colored gallery; and a blacksmith, also enslaved, who rushes to the scene and rescues patrons jumping from windows. The bad behavior of the powerful becomes a theme: the theatre company attempts to pin blame on a fabricated slave revolt, and men in the audience trample their wives in making their escape.”
—The New Yorker
Beanland’s gripping fictional account delves into this tragedy [the Richmond Theater Fire], examining the aftermath, the stories that were told and the blame that was unfairly laid on people without the means to defend themselves.”
—Washington Post
The House Is on Fire is wildly entertaining and it deals with touchy subjects very well. [The characters] all have unique voices, and their stories are treated with equal care and attention, which speaks volumes not only about Beanland’s research skills but also the empathy she has for the people she writes about. This novel is a fictionalized slice of history, but in a time when so many treat teaching history as a taboo, it is also a stark reminder of how privilege, sexism, and racism have been in this country’s DNA since its inception, and that makes it necessary reading.”
—NPR
The House Is on Fire is the very best that historical fiction has to offer: a riveting investigation of a dark period in our nation’s history and a champion of the voices most often silenced. Beanland has done great justice not only to the history of the Richmond Theater Fire, but to the real people who witnessed it, survived it and saved others from it. Tautly written and sensitively told, this is a masterwork from an author as compassionate as she is thorough.”
—Bookreporter
A narrative brimming with immediacy and authenticity…. Beanland’s principled approach to history, her fine-tuned prose, her profound intellect and her benevolent humanity combine to shine in this absorbing novel, one that discerning readers will embrace.”
—Richmond Post Dispatch
The House Is on Fire captures the disastrous night hour by hour, reminiscent of watching a true crime drama on TV. Most importantly, Beanland’s choice to explore the tragedy through four very differently privileged people allows the story to go beyond facts and into the moral fabric and social norms of the time. It is disturbing to be reminded of the vice grip of racism, class and sexism while a deadly fire rages on…. Fast-moving, character-driven and action-packed, The House Is on Fire is simply a thrill to read.”
—Bookpage
Florence Adler Swims Forever
A perfect summer read.… In less than ten pages, I became a mere subject of the audience, allowing Beanland’s storytelling ability to overpower me, rather than taking the story in consciously and internally commenting…. What’s remarkable is not how quickly the book hooked me, but how it held my attention during and after reading. After spending a pleasant afternoon flying through the first 96 pages, I woke up at 3 a.m. thinking about the plot. I simply couldn’t put it out of my head. I finished in two days…. I felt awe.”
—USA Today
Beanland’s novel draws the reader in. The situation she describes is poignant and the characters she develops win us over with their private grief. Beanland is particularly good at conjuring 1930s Atlantic City, with its small family-owned hotels yielding to larger, more commercial palaces. The historical moment is fraught as American Jews try to save relatives in an increasingly untenable Nazi Germany. We see cruel obstacles to immigration, and the growing chasm between European Jews and their increasingly prosperous American counterparts. This is a book about the American dream. The dream is not without costs, and the dreamers are not immune to tragedy.”
—New York Times Book Review
Beanland deftly weaves various historical events and themes: the rise of the Nazi regime, family secrets, the struggle between classes, religious tensions, sexuality, and familial love. Yet it works, and this novel is as close to unputdownable as they come. Based on a true story—beautifully described in the Author’s Note—Florence Adler Swims Forever is a memorable debut.”
—Amazon Book Review
Beanland beautifully handles the depiction of loss and rebuilding life without a loved one, describing moments that are by turns painful and moving. The thick emotional tension will please fans of character-driven historicals.”
—Publishers Weekly
