Journey Through History and Mystery
Robert Brighton, acclaimed author of the Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mysteries, intricately explores the Gilded Age, blending historical accuracy with compelling narratives, inspired by extensive research and global adventures.
Robert Brighton, the celebrated author behind the Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mysteries, invites readers into the vibrant and tumultuous world of the Gilded Age—a period often mischaracterised as prim and proper. With a masterful touch, Brighton strips away the era’s glittering facade to reveal the raw human emotions and societal conflicts simmering beneath. His novels are a testament to his ability to blend meticulous historical research with compelling storytelling, offering readers a window into a time that feels both alien and eerily familiar. Brighton’s work is not just about solving mysteries; it’s about unraveling the complex tapestry of human nature and societal change during a pivotal moment in history.
Beyond his literary achievements, Brighton is a true adventurer at heart. His travels across fifty-six countries, often on a shoestring budget, have enriched his understanding of diverse cultures and human experiences, which he deftly weaves into his narratives. His eclectic career path, which includes roles as a mule wrangler, bison rancher, and vintage automobile restorer, speaks to his relentless curiosity and passion for exploration. A graduate of the Sorbonne, Brighton draws inspiration from the likes of Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison, infusing his work with a unique blend of poetic insight and rock-and-roll edge. Residing in Virginia with his wife and their two British Shorthair cats, Brighton continues to captivate readers with his richly detailed and thought-provoking tales.
Robert, your work delves deeply into the Gilded Age, a period you describe as anything but stuffy. What drew you to this era, and how do you go about balancing the romanticized view of the Victorian period with the gritty realities you aim to portray in your books?
I was drawn to the Gilded Age primarily because in my opinion the period rang the curtain down on Western civilization. No one knew it at the time; in fact the ‘man on the street’ would have said with some confidence that the future would be a better place than the present, or certainly the past. The past century has seen much of that optimism upended, and so I became curious as to what went wrong. It took four years of steady research, and while I can’t claim to have developed any overarching theory, I do have a few ideas.
Your Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mysteries are known for their immersive historical detail. Can you share some insights into your research process and how you ensure historical accuracy while maintaining engaging and dynamic storytelling?
I study primary sources—diaries, newspapers, letters, magazines—from my period so that I can get as close to the vibe of the time as possible. I’ll forget most of the specifics I take in, of course, but with any luck I squirrel away a few historical nuggets that I can give away to readers as the story unfolds. People seem to prefer one really colorful or ‘wow, I didn’t know that!’ type of historical incident than a long narrative that better belongs on the non-fiction shelf.
You’ve traveled to over 56 countries, often immersing yourself in experiences akin to those faced by your characters. How have these adventures influenced your writing, and can you share a specific experience that directly inspired a scene or character in your novels?
To be a good writer, you have first to become a good observer of humanity and human nature. What other worthy subject is there, really? So for me, exposing myself to so many different cultures and countries was like a giant research trip—every day soaking in something about another person’s perspectives about life and love and everything else under the sun. I don’t write about myself, however, so there’s no direct story or experience that I’ve related in my books; it all goes ‘on background’.
In Current of Darkness, you explore themes of duplicity, betrayal, and industrial espionage. What inspired you to weave these elements into the backdrop of Niagara Falls, and how do you approach developing complex, multifaceted characters like Sarah Payne and Charles Kendall?
Money, power, and sex are things most people crave at one time or another—they are to human beings as catnip is to cats. When cats succeed at getting into the good stuff, they can be relied upon to go certifiably nuts. And in 1903 Niagara Falls, if you could get your hands on any one of the three, you could easily get as much of the other two as you liked. So if money, sex, and power represent three powerful poles of human attraction, I felt that a story about business, seduction, and greed would cover the waterfront and provide more than enough raw material for my plots and subplots.
Your novels often feature strong, independent female protagonists, such as Sarah Payne and Alicia Miller. How do you go about crafting these characters, and what do you hope readers take away from their stories and struggles?
Every movement or revolution starts with a very few persons—and they usually have one thing in common: They have nothing left to lose. Thus freed from fear of further harm, they can act according to the dictates of their consciences. The same could be said of the pioneering women of the Gilded Age. In a time when women’s options were still normally circumscribed by home and childrearing, many ‘New Women’ of the Gilded Age launched themselves into the murky and perplexing challenge so familiar to women today: the difficult juggling of career and family. Because I believe that the past is never entirely gone but rather lives alongside us, I’m interested in how actions of the people of more than a hundred years ago are still shaping our actions today.
With your background as a graduate of the Sorbonne and your admiration for figures like Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison, how do these influences manifest in your writing, particularly in terms of thematic exploration and character development?
Both Morrison and Dickinson write in an elliptical, photographic style that stimulates my visual imagination. Their very best work is utterly impossible to imitate, let alone to improve—perhaps because their work is so manifestly a reflection of their idiosyncratic lifestyles. I think we may allow that the creative spaces that Dickinson and Morrison conjured up were, and are still, so manifestly a reflection of the artists themselves that they deprived all future artists the opportunity to build upon their oeuvre—one can only interpret the work, not add to it.
