Author Peter Geye takes readers back to 1910 and up Minnesota's North Shore in his latest historical fiction novel A Lesser Light.
The story centers around Willa and her lighthouse keeper spouse. Husband Theodulf is assigned to a fictional version of Split Rock Lighthouse about 20 miles up the shore from Two Harbors, Minnesota where the couple navigates their first year of marriage in a sparsely populated area.
Challenges emerge, not only the new setting, but also in the relationship between Willa and Theodulf. "She is educated," says Geye of his protagonist. "She's incredibly smart, she understands astronomy, she's fascinated by Halley's Comet which is making its orbit... and she's got this husband who's - though very dutiful of the lighthouse - less inclined to sound reasoning and scientific judgment."
In A Lesser Light, the coming of the comet ignites fearmongering. Some believe that without proper preemptive medication illness could be caused as Halley's Comet passes overhead. Geye utilized actual historical fears that people had of the comet at the time, even though the comet was scientifically well documented and understood. "There were still people who were terrified of it," says Geye, "and others who took advantage of that terror."
Peter Geye's A Lesser Light can be found at most booksellers in the Northland as well as through the University of Minnesota Press website.
Minnesota Reads is produced at The North 103.3 with funding provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
