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Oleanders in June
Galveston Island, 1900.
A year of training in the Signal Corp did nothing to prepare Alfred Ridgeway for his new post with the U.S. Weather Bureau on the edge of the Texas gulf. Raised on a farm in Indian Territory, Alfred finds the wealth and grandeur of Galveston Island overwhelming and lacking a place for a man of his status.
Despite his expectations, Alfred finds himself thrust into the strained relationship of renowned climatologist, Isaac Cline, and his assisting brother, Joseph. With rising tensions in the office, Alfred begins searching beyond the bureau for a new identity.
An intriguing newspaper ad connects Alfred with Hilary Carson, an eccentric naturalist with a love of birds, leading Alfred to find a niche on the island. When a chance encounter ignites the interest of a young woman, the budding romance with the extraordinary Florence Keller soothes his spirit and furthers his sense of belonging.
But as the summer heats up, the bureau cuts ties with a valuable source of information, leaving the Galveston Weather Office blind during the peak of hurricane season. When a telegram warns of a storm in the gulf, Alfred must choose between following protocol or trusting his instincts—and learn just how far he will go for the woman he loves.
Teeming with imagery and thickened with historical relevance, Oleanders in June is the compelling tale of an island’s most pivotal moment and an emotionally captivating debut.
A year of training in the Signal Corp did nothing to prepare Alfred Ridgeway for his new post with the U.S. Weather Bureau on the edge of the Texas gulf. Raised on a farm in Indian Territory, Alfred finds the wealth and grandeur of Galveston Island overwhelming and lacking a place for a man of his status.
Despite his expectations, Alfred finds himself thrust into the strained relationship of renowned climatologist, Isaac Cline, and his assisting brother, Joseph. With rising tensions in the office, Alfred begins searching beyond the bureau for a new identity.
An intriguing newspaper ad connects Alfred with Hilary Carson, an eccentric naturalist with a love of birds, leading Alfred to find a niche on the island. When a chance encounter ignites the interest of a young woman, the budding romance with the extraordinary Florence Keller soothes his spirit and furthers his sense of belonging.
But as the summer heats up, the bureau cuts ties with a valuable source of information, leaving the Galveston Weather Office blind during the peak of hurricane season. When a telegram warns of a storm in the gulf, Alfred must choose between following protocol or trusting his instincts—and learn just how far he will go for the woman he loves.
Teeming with imagery and thickened with historical relevance, Oleanders in June is the compelling tale of an island’s most pivotal moment and an emotionally captivating debut.
592 pages, Paperback
Published June 8, 2019
12 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Whitney Vandiver
1 book5 followersWhitney Vandiver is an indie author. Her debut novel Oleanders in June (2019) highlights Galveston Island's most pivotal moment during the summer of 1900 and was received with high praise. Her forthcoming novel Red River, a murder mystery set in 1995 in Oklahoma, is set to release in 2021. Whitney lives in Pearland, Texas, with her husband, a tabby cat, and an Irish Wolfhound puppy.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 13, 2019
If you haven’t picked up and read a copy of this book – and you live in the Galveston area – what are you waiting for? Even if you don’t live in the Galveston area, this book has enough romance, human interest, and historical data to satisfy just about anyone who loves to read. Filled with an amazing amount of historical information about Galveston leading up to the Great Storm of 1900 - also known as the largest natural disaster in US history, this book by Vandiver will have you intrigued and page-turning to the very end.
With character-building skills that are enviable, Ms. Vandiver has not only created some very interesting characters to inhabit her pages, but has also woven their lives into interactions with some of the characters whose names are among Galveston’s turn-of-the-century notoriety. Drawing on the incredible wealth of historical knowledge available through the Galveston Historical Foundation, the Moody Foundation, the Rosenberg Library, and the Mitchell Historic Properties, Vandiver has re-created the life and times of 1900 Galveston.
Using the U.S Weather Bureau’s actual Dr. Isaac Cline, who went down in history as a highly intellectual man who held his duty above all things, as one of the main characters, along with his brother Joseph and the fictitious Alfred Ridgeway, Vandiver shares the weather occurrences which led up to the loss of nearly 6,000 lives in such an engrossing manner, that this book was definitely very difficult to put down. Add all of that to Alfred's courtship of his true love and throw in some of the scoundrels of Galveston's underbelly, you wind up with one attention-grabbing read.
While the nearly 600 pages of this book might appear to be a bit daunting, I have to say that every moment spent reading it was well spent as this is one of the most enjoyable and informative books that I have had the opportunity to read in quite a long time
With character-building skills that are enviable, Ms. Vandiver has not only created some very interesting characters to inhabit her pages, but has also woven their lives into interactions with some of the characters whose names are among Galveston’s turn-of-the-century notoriety. Drawing on the incredible wealth of historical knowledge available through the Galveston Historical Foundation, the Moody Foundation, the Rosenberg Library, and the Mitchell Historic Properties, Vandiver has re-created the life and times of 1900 Galveston.
Using the U.S Weather Bureau’s actual Dr. Isaac Cline, who went down in history as a highly intellectual man who held his duty above all things, as one of the main characters, along with his brother Joseph and the fictitious Alfred Ridgeway, Vandiver shares the weather occurrences which led up to the loss of nearly 6,000 lives in such an engrossing manner, that this book was definitely very difficult to put down. Add all of that to Alfred's courtship of his true love and throw in some of the scoundrels of Galveston's underbelly, you wind up with one attention-grabbing read.
While the nearly 600 pages of this book might appear to be a bit daunting, I have to say that every moment spent reading it was well spent as this is one of the most enjoyable and informative books that I have had the opportunity to read in quite a long time
June 30, 2019
I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Oleanders in June. In reading this book, I could truly feel how much effort the author put into creating this story. There is so much rich historical information and the scenes were described in vivid detail. I used to live in Galveston, so it was fascinating to picture it through the lens of 1900 and to recognize landmarks in the book that I remember from my time there. The author clearly spent a lot of time and effort researching the Galveston of 1900, and it shows in her detailed description of the city and it's inhabitants.
I think a particularly strong aspect of this book is the characters. The cast of characters was diverse and well developed, blending actual historical figures with fictional characters who fit perfectly in the setting. My personal favorite was Hillary, with his love for protecting the natural environment of the island and passion for birds. He and I have that in common.
Overall, this was a vividly detailed picture of Galveston in the months leading up to the great storm of 1900, with a great cast of characters and intricate historical detail.
I think a particularly strong aspect of this book is the characters. The cast of characters was diverse and well developed, blending actual historical figures with fictional characters who fit perfectly in the setting. My personal favorite was Hillary, with his love for protecting the natural environment of the island and passion for birds. He and I have that in common.
Overall, this was a vividly detailed picture of Galveston in the months leading up to the great storm of 1900, with a great cast of characters and intricate historical detail.
July 27, 2019
"Oleanders in June are the island's love letter to people like us."
What a triumphant review this novel is. You can wrap yourself in the beautiful descriptions of Galveston, so much so that I felt myself there as I read. The imagery was intoxicating. It's such a big story with so many moving parts: Alfred's personal life, the politics of the weather bureau, the greed of those robbing the island of its natural wonder, and of course the storm itself. It's a story that looks forward to, telling the tale of where people want their town to be in the future. I really feel as though the slow build structure of the story allowed for me, as a reader, to see this encompassing picture of this time period in Galveston. This novel is certainly one of the best (actually probably THE BEST) fictional local history narratives I've ever read for its immersiveness and its depth of research. Seriously, the research this story must've taken is insane.
The characters are all so great. I loved Alfred in every way, a good man trying to do good things despite a ton of forces working against him. Mathias and Ms Poplar are lovely but my favorite was Hilary for his quirkiness and depth. Florence is also wonderful with her spunk and independence despite her physical hardships. And, I couldn't have hated John more. Seriously, I haven't disliked a character more in a long time. He's insufferable! But I do like having someone to root against.
There's definitely a shift (call it a change in the winds) when the storm starts to come into play. I could not put it down for those last 100 pages. It's all sweet warm summer lovely and then clouds start to gather with this real heavy sense of impending doom trickling in. It literally made the back of my neck prickle. The description of the storm itself was incredible, gave me chills to read as if the hurricane was here with me too. All the build up about the town and its people just made it more emotional as a reader because Galveston was so alive in my mind, and that made the storms impact that much more heart wrenching. I won't give anything away here but my heart broke over the losses the storm brought. But, the epilogue was lovely. It wrapped everything up and gave me this glimpse of Galveston's future that I really loved.
This book is an experience. It's a full-body, full-mind consumption that transports you back in time so you can fall in love with wonderful people as they struggle, love, and grow in the midst of disaster. I loved it and would certainly recommend it to any reader, especially those historical fiction fans out there.
Note: I received a free paperback copy of this book via an Instagram giveaway. Thank you to the giveaway sponsor, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read it and write the honest review above.
What a triumphant review this novel is. You can wrap yourself in the beautiful descriptions of Galveston, so much so that I felt myself there as I read. The imagery was intoxicating. It's such a big story with so many moving parts: Alfred's personal life, the politics of the weather bureau, the greed of those robbing the island of its natural wonder, and of course the storm itself. It's a story that looks forward to, telling the tale of where people want their town to be in the future. I really feel as though the slow build structure of the story allowed for me, as a reader, to see this encompassing picture of this time period in Galveston. This novel is certainly one of the best (actually probably THE BEST) fictional local history narratives I've ever read for its immersiveness and its depth of research. Seriously, the research this story must've taken is insane.
The characters are all so great. I loved Alfred in every way, a good man trying to do good things despite a ton of forces working against him. Mathias and Ms Poplar are lovely but my favorite was Hilary for his quirkiness and depth. Florence is also wonderful with her spunk and independence despite her physical hardships. And, I couldn't have hated John more. Seriously, I haven't disliked a character more in a long time. He's insufferable! But I do like having someone to root against.
There's definitely a shift (call it a change in the winds) when the storm starts to come into play. I could not put it down for those last 100 pages. It's all sweet warm summer lovely and then clouds start to gather with this real heavy sense of impending doom trickling in. It literally made the back of my neck prickle. The description of the storm itself was incredible, gave me chills to read as if the hurricane was here with me too. All the build up about the town and its people just made it more emotional as a reader because Galveston was so alive in my mind, and that made the storms impact that much more heart wrenching. I won't give anything away here but my heart broke over the losses the storm brought. But, the epilogue was lovely. It wrapped everything up and gave me this glimpse of Galveston's future that I really loved.
This book is an experience. It's a full-body, full-mind consumption that transports you back in time so you can fall in love with wonderful people as they struggle, love, and grow in the midst of disaster. I loved it and would certainly recommend it to any reader, especially those historical fiction fans out there.
Note: I received a free paperback copy of this book via an Instagram giveaway. Thank you to the giveaway sponsor, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read it and write the honest review above.
June 10, 2019
A great historical fiction novel! The book follows true to history while adding in fictional characters to add depth to a captivating story. Oleanders in June puts you in the front seat to experience what is still the most deadly natural disaster in the United States.
The quaint island love story that accompanies the intense drama of the Weather Bureau is a breath of fresh summer air. Florence makes for a lovable character, doing her best to stand out as a strong-willed and carefree woman in a time that was dominated by men. She is a match and more for Alfred, bringing him into the wealthy world that was 1900 Galveston while also showing him that he is enough for her just the way he is.
A great first novel from Whitney Vandiver!
The quaint island love story that accompanies the intense drama of the Weather Bureau is a breath of fresh summer air. Florence makes for a lovable character, doing her best to stand out as a strong-willed and carefree woman in a time that was dominated by men. She is a match and more for Alfred, bringing him into the wealthy world that was 1900 Galveston while also showing him that he is enough for her just the way he is.
A great first novel from Whitney Vandiver!
August 27, 2019
A marvelous book and an easy read
I loved this book. I have to say I was born in Galveston and love the island. My great-grandmother, grandmother, and great-uncle survived the 1900 storm. My great-grandparents ran a corner grocery at 9th and Church. When reading your book I was feeling the heat and humidity or smelling the gulf breeze. You are a wonderful writer and you put your reader right in the story.
I loved this book. I have to say I was born in Galveston and love the island. My great-grandmother, grandmother, and great-uncle survived the 1900 storm. My great-grandparents ran a corner grocery at 9th and Church. When reading your book I was feeling the heat and humidity or smelling the gulf breeze. You are a wonderful writer and you put your reader right in the story.
Read
November 21, 2022I am a BOI (Born on Island) and was in High School when Carla hit Galveston. We rode Carla out at the Seahorse Hotel directly across the street from rhe Seawall. My great grandfather survived the 1900 Storm. I know all the streets and buildings she described in this book. I know all the wealthy families. This book was fantastic. I bought my wedding peignoir from Levy's ( it became a high end clothing store). The buildings she described are still standing and we spent multiple years at the Tremont for New Years Eve. This is such a good read. If you haven't been to Galveston you need to. Explore all the "ginger bread" trim on the houses there. Rosenberg Library is Amazing! This book was magical and sad at the same time. She did an excellent job of capturing Galveston Island.
February 13, 2024
If you love the rich history of Galveston island, mixed with naturalist beauty, and of course a love story in the mix, then this is for you. Set during the tragic storm of 1900- the US’s most devastating hurricane. This historical fiction reminds me of the titanic- where you know the devastation that is about to unfold. It’s about love, survival, and the beauty and danger in nature.
November 5, 2020
Love the entire book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews