Photos & Story by Marianne Salza
Nantucket resident, Elin Hilderbrand, shared her journey to becoming a New York Times Best Selling Author of 30 novels during the October 22 Beacon Hill Women’s Forum (BHWF) at the Hampshire House, where she autographed books for members and described her love of Beacon Hill. The neighborhood has been her literary revisioning sanctuary during every fall since 2010.
“Beacon Hill is a place unlike any other. It’s one of my favorite places. It’s unique. It has brick sidewalks, cute, little alleys, and the most delicious real estate. It is a tiny jewel in the middle of a big city,” said Hilderbrand. “Nantucket is similarly architecturally cohesive. It has a strong sense of place. On Nantucket, we’re all family. Those resonate with me for both places. We are so lucky to be here.”
Hilderbrand grew up outside Philadelphia, in a blended family of five children, spending every July in Brewster, on Cape Cod. Sunny days were spent on the beach. The floor boards of the cottage were covered in sand. The family would watch the sunset like it was a Broadway show. If dinner was not a barbeque, they would eat fried clams, with soft serve ice cream for dessert.
“It was an idyllic way to grow up,” remembered Hilderbrand about summers before her father lost his life in a plane crash when she was 16-years-old.
At the age of 17, Hilderbrand had her first job at a Halloween costume factory, folding Rambo headbands and assembling face paint kits. It fueled her determination to get her beloved summers back.
She studied creative writing at Johns Hopkins University; and moved to New York City after graduating. Hilderbrand worked in publishing for nine months until she realized that if she truly wanted to become an author, it was vital for her to have dedicated time to concentrate on writing.
Hilderbrand then pursued teaching, so that she would have summer vacations. Her first year, she taught at a public school in Queens; and the next year she served at a school in Westchester County, north of New York City.
“The summer between those two school years changed my life because that was my chance to get back to the beach. It was 1993,” recalled Hilderbrand, who has since lived in Nantucket for 30 years. “It was a dream come true.”
She held positions in a multitude of jobs – working the classified desk at The Inquirer and Mirror, substitute teaching, and working for an attorney – until she became a graduate student in the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop in the fall of 1996.
“My march to the top was very slow,” said Hilderbrand. “I did not hit number one on the Best-Sellers list until my 23rd book. I was 50-years-old.”
Now, Hilderbrand’s mystery novel, “The Perfect Couple,” has been made into a six-episode Netflix drama series starring Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber.
“I don’t want to give anything away about the ending, but it’s the same person who does it,” Hilderbrand announced. “The show is a lot more intentional because that is more satisfying. The book had a very nuanced ending. Only one person knows who did it in the end; but the whole world wanted to see that person brought to justice.”
Hilderbrand explained other major differences between the Netflix series and her book, like Celeste’s name being changed to “Amelia” to avoid confusion between Nicole Kidman’s character, Celeste, in the HBO series, “Big Little Lies.”
“I have encouraged my readers to embrace the show as a different piece of art based on my novel. They did a great job,” emphasized Hilderbrand, who noted that the romantic relationships are more deeply explored in her book.
“The Perfect Couple” was also filmed in Chatham, as opposed to where the novel is set, on Nantucket Island, as the equipment and crew necessary to produce the series were too extensive.
“Just the trucks that hold the lights are as big as this room,” described Hilderbrand, in the second-floor library of the Hampshire House. “Nantucket is small and doesn’t have the facilities to accommodate a massive production. I was happy because their original plan was to shoot in North Carolina or Georgia because it’s cheaper. Our producers shot to have it at the Cape so it would have a Cape and islands feel. Those who live on Nantucket know that it’s not the same; but only we know.”
Hilderbrand and her daughter, Shelby, are currently working on a novel set inspired by her daughter’s experiences at an independent, New England boarding school. “The Academy,” which will be released in September 2025, has also been auctioned by Netflix, and will be made into a series produced by Shawn Levy, best known for his work on “Stranger Things” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”