PHOTO: Author Jane Loeb Rubin at home in New Jersey, where she writes stories rooted in memory, medicine, and generational strength.
A Journey Through Family Legacy, Medical History, And Female Empowerment
Jane Loeb Rubin brings to life the untold stories of immigrant women, blending medical history, wartime resilience, and familial strength in a powerful trilogy inspired by her great-grandmother’s forgotten legacy.
Jane Rubin writes with the rare clarity of someone who has lived at the intersection of resilience and inquiry. Her stories are born of personal history, medical legacy, and a determination to give voice to the silenced women of the past. At the heart of her fiction lies Tillie, her great-grandmother—fragmentary in the historical record, but reimagined in vivid, breathing form across a trilogy that spans decades of struggle, reinvention, and hope.
In Threadbare and In the Hands of Women, Rubin recreates a Gilded Age New York that is both sweeping in its historical canvas and intimate in its emotional reach. Her characters—midwives, mothers, daughters, healers—are caught between archaic laws and the slow evolution of medical practice. Yet Rubin never allows them to become symbols alone; they are rendered with flesh, spirit, and longing.
With Over There, the series shifts to the battlefields of World War I, where the Isaacson family must navigate grief, transformation, and the brutal cost of progress. The voices multiply, the stakes rise, and yet the pulse of the story remains the same: human dignity, in all its complexity, fought for and reclaimed.
Rubin’s work is unflinching yet tender, rigorous yet emotionally charged. Drawing from her own life—as a cancer survivor, healthcare executive, and advocate—she writes not just to preserve memory, but to give it shape, voice, and meaning.
How did researching your great-grandmother’s minimal historical trial influence Tillie’s character development in Threadbare?
I knew very little about Tillie’s character, dreams, or personality. What I did know helped frame the setting of the book. Her family immigrated to NYC in 1866 and established a farm in Harlem. She then married Abe at sixteen and gave birth to Julian a year later. I knew she died from a ‘woman’s disease,’ but female descendants inherited the qualities she had passed down. They were all exceptionally bright and motivated to succeed in life, and while struck by the BRCA1 cancer mutation, they forged forward until the end. I used their qualities to craft Tillie’s. Threadbare is dedicated to women who died from cancer when there were few treatments. Particularly those whose names have been lost in history.
In the Hands of Women continues Tillie’s journey—what challenges did you find most compelling in writing its middle instalment?
In the Hands of Women flowed from my fingers onto the page. There was something powerfully alive in this story, and I knew it needed to be told. In the face of today’s highly conservative politics in the US (ironically, the book was finished a year before Roe v Wade was overturned), I was worried about the future of women’s reproductive rights. At the very least, I needed to recount the history of a relatively recent time when women lacked those rights and the consequences that followed. That way, readers would hopefully be able to make informed decisions.
Over There shifts to World War I—how did setting the Isaacson family amid wartime France alter your narrative approach?
Threadbare and In the Hands of Women are both written in first person through the voices of the four main characters, Tillie and Hannah. Although I wanted to continue with the first-person narrative in Over There, my characters were scattered around the globe, so I decided to feature four voices, each with a specific purpose, and maintain a linear timeline. Hannah stays in NYC and faces family issues. Her patients and children are fearful that they will never see their husbands or fathers again. Ben, a senior surgeon, is stationed at The American Hospital in Paris. Through his eyes, we experience the impact of facial injuries and the rise of plastic surgery. Eli, a young surgeon, is stationed at an evacuation hospital on the Front, overwhelmed by the volume of trauma and need to stay true to his values. Miriam, the protagonist, is Tillie’s youngest, a nurse, and Eli’s wife. She is struggling to find a way to work alongside Eli in France.
Your background in healthcare and genetic diagnosis informs medical themes—how did that background influence depictions of disease and midwifery in the trilogy?
As a healthcare executive with thirty years of experience, I have always been fascinated by the history of medical innovation. Exploring this period of history has been an engaging journey and has, at the very least, highlighted the great minds and determination that have shaped today’s medicine. Thanks to these advances, I am now entering my 17th year as an ovarian cancer survivor.
You interweave immigrant, Jewish, and women’s histories—what elements did you most prioritise to achieve authenticity?
The elements mentioned above establish the historical background for each story. Since the books are works of historical fiction, I aim for accuracy by including as much detail as possible in the dialogue and setting. Social norms, food, clothing, and smells are all crucial for making the world believable. However, the characters are realistic human beings and take centre stage. The situations I create bring the timeframe to life and add cinematic value.
The Mathilda Fund melds personal memoir and philanthropy—how has that experience shaped your fiction writing and community engagement?
Raising funds for cancer research has stayed a central focus in my journey as an author. I often ask small book clubs to contribute to the Mathilda Fund at The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. I also direct royalties and income from swag to the Fund.
You retired from healthcare to write full-time—how did that career transition influence your discipline, research methods, and storytelling style?
That’s a great question. In today’s world, success as an author—beyond producing work readers enjoy—practically requires a business degree. My background in marketing, analytics, quality assurance, and public speaking has been key to my success over the years. And, as a hospital-based professional in a 24/7 business, I’m wired to wake up early and get to work at my desk. It’s the perfect next profession for me.
What advice would you give aspiring historical fiction authors seeking to blend rigorous research with emotionally resonant storytelling?
Take your time and focus on your story. Don’t rush to finish. Inaccuracies and gaps will be readily apparent to your readers. I still participate in critique groups and classes. Honest feedback has consistently helped raise the quality of my storytelling.
