Beatriz Williams, the queen of sweeping historical fiction, returns with Under the Stars, a richly woven novel that spans centuries and generations. Set against the backdrop of New England’s windswept Winthrop Island, this story intertwines family legacy, lost love, and long-buried secrets with Williams’s signature mix of romance, history, and intrigue. It’s an atmospheric blend of past and present, though not without a few turbulent waves along the way.
The Story: A Legacy Hidden Beneath the Waves
The novel unfolds across three interlocking timelines. In the modern day, chef Audrey Fisher and her mother, Meredith, a glamorous actress struggling with alcoholism, reluctantly return to Winthrop Island to rebuild their fractured relationship. Meredith hopes to stay sober long enough to revive her career, while Audrey, recently betrayed by her husband, seeks clarity and distance.
When Audrey discovers a chest filled with paintings hidden in her late father’s cellar, she uncovers a mystery that ties her family to a vanished woman from centuries ago. Each painting depicts the same haunting face a woman who may have perished aboard a doomed luxury steamship in 1846.
That woman is Providence Dare, a fugitive fleeing Boston aboard the Atlantic after a scandal involving the suspicious death of her employer, the artist Henry Irving. Caught between guilt, danger, and the storm of her past, Providence’s journey toward Winthrop Island sets the foundation for a story that will echo across generations.
A Symphony of Timelines
Williams is no stranger to multi-layered storytelling, and Under the Stars showcases her ambition. The novel moves fluidly between 1846, 1993, and 2024, drawing elegant parallels between the women who anchor each era. Providence, Meredith, and Audrey are bound by loss, reinvention, and a search for identity amid the expectations of others.
The historical timeline is particularly striking. The scenes aboard the Atlantic are vivid and claustrophobic, capturing the terror of the storm and the moral peril Providence faces. Williams’s descriptions of the shipwreck are cinematic, evoking both the grandeur of the steamship age and the human desperation beneath it. Many readers, like Cheryl Carey, found these passages the most fascinating proof of Williams’s ability to make history pulse with emotion.
The modern storyline, by contrast, is more introspective, delving into the fraught relationship between mother and daughter. Meredith’s fading glamour and Audrey’s resentment form a volatile mix of love and bitterness. The emotional honesty here is commendable, though at times their dynamic tilts toward hostility, leaving readers like Haley Michelle wishing for more warmth or resolution.
Themes of Family, Art, and Redemption
At its heart, Under the Stars explores how art and memory preserve what time tries to erase. The discovery of the lost paintings bridges the gap between centuries, linking Providence’s tragic story to Audrey’s quest for identity. Each woman struggles to define herself against the shadows of others a lover, a parent, a legacy and in doing so, finds a measure of freedom.
Williams also touches on the destructive power of fame and the quiet dignity of reinvention. Meredith’s celebrity masks deep trauma, while Audrey’s culinary career represents her attempt to create something authentic after years of living in her mother’s orbit. Providence’s arc escaping societal judgment and claiming her own destiny mirrors theirs in a beautifully cyclical way.
The Writing: Lush, Immersive, and Occasionally Overwhelming
Williams’s prose is, as always, lush and evocative. Her depictions of sea air, candlelight, and island summers are immersive, transporting readers into every setting. The dialogue, particularly in the historical scenes, feels authentic without being heavy-handed.
However, some sections feel overstuffed. The modern timeline includes heavy doses of profanity and sexual tension that may surprise longtime fans accustomed to Williams’s more restrained style. While it lends realism to the contemporary scenes, it occasionally distracts from the emotional core of the story.
The novel’s pacing also fluctuates. The historical chapters grip immediately, while the modern plot takes longer to find its rhythm. Still, by the end, the threads converge in a satisfying resolution that rewards patient readers.
Character Highlights
- Providence Dare: Courageous, resourceful, and achingly human, she is the novel’s emotional anchor. Her sections deliver the strongest blend of suspense and empathy.
- Audrey Fisher: Flawed but determined, she embodies the struggle to escape familial gravity and forge a new identity.
- Meredith Fisher: A complex portrait of a woman undone by fame and regret. Her vulnerability brings depth to what could have been a stereotypical “fallen star” narrative.
Supporting characters, from Audrey’s estranged father to the mysterious neighbor Sedge Peabody, enrich the story’s sense of community and continuity, linking the modern Fisher family to Winthrop Island’s ghostly past.
Final Thoughts
Under the Stars is classic Beatriz Williams lushly written, romantic, and layered with history but it also ventures into darker, rawer emotional territory. The novel’s greatest strength lies in its exploration of how women across centuries reclaim their voices amid loss and expectation. The shipwreck of 1846 becomes a haunting metaphor for generational survival: no matter how deep the secrets sink, they eventually rise to the surface.
Though some readers may find the modern storyline heavier and more volatile than expected, the beauty of Williams’s prose and the resonance of her themes make this an unforgettable journey through art, family, and time itself.
Perfect for fans of The Summer Wives and Husbands and Lovers, this novel is a sweeping meditation on how love and truth endure long after the storm has passed.
Buy the book here: https://amzn.to/4378c7S
