Golden Girl

Elin Hilderbrand is a popular author American author with more than 20 million books sold worldwide (“Elin Hilderbrand Explains Why She’s Retiring from Writing Summer Beach Reads.” CBC News, 2024). She has been a published writer since her senior year of college, with her short story, “Misdirection,” appearing in Seventeen Magazine (“About Elin Hilderbrand.” Elin Hilderbrand, 2024). Hilderbrand published her first novel, The Beach Club, in 2000 and has since penned 30 novels and several short stories. Golden Girl, published in 2021, has many canonical references from across her entire oeuvre and also features numerous autobiographical elements.

There are references to characters that appear in Hilderbrand’s other books set in Nantucket, the most prominent of which is Ed “The Chief” Kapenash. The Chief, who plays a significant role in Golden Girl as he works to uncover the truth behind Vivi’s death, appears in Hilderbrand’s other Nantucket novels, such as The Perfect Couple (2018) and Swan Song (2024), the latter of which sees him as one of the main characters. Relatedly, Amy and Dennis wonder what a Vivian Howe novel about them might be titled and throw out “The Leftovers” and “The Cast-Asides” as suggestions; The Castaways (2009) is indeed a Hilderbrand title, another one in which the Kapenashes make an appearance. Hilderbrand also includes familiar elements from the Nantucket setting in her other books, such as the Field and Oar Club, which she uses to subtly touch upon elements of class and privilege as she does in her other Nantucket books.

While canonical references such as these are not uncommon across Hilderbrand’s books, she draws on an unprecedented number of autobiographical details in crafting Vivi’s character. Like Vivi, Hilderbrand is a single mother of three, having divorced their father when her middle child was just 11 (“Elin Hilderbrand Explains”). Just as with Vivi, Hilderbrand’s father passed away when she was a teenager (“Elin Hilderbrand Explains”). Vivi’s ambition and focus on her career—she pens her first novel, The Dune Daughters, when she is postpartum with her second child—comes from Hilderbrand’s determination that one must have a passion or career outside of parenting (“Elin Hilderbrand Explains”). Vivi’s perspective and experiences in the book are thus drawn almost directly from Hilderbrand’s life. Both women are non-native Nantucketers who fell in love with the island as adults and settled there permanently; their love for the island and the community inspires them to set all (or, in Hilderbrand’s case, a majority) of their books in Nantucket. Vivi yearns for a top spot on the prestigious New York Times bestseller list and finally realizes this dream posthumously, a feeling Hilderbrand is familiar with, having tasted it two years prior with her novel Summer of ‘69 (2019).

Hilderbrand thus infuses a large part of herself in Vivi’s character. She even ensures the presence of an omniscient narrator who refuses to tell all in the character of Martha. Martha and Vivi’s dynamic reflects the relationship between Hilderbrand and her readers when the latter is immersed in her books. By crafting Vivi in her image, Hilderbrand offers the reader a glimpse of her life even within an entirely fictional universe.