Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard Author of Award-Winning Historical Fiction

About Elizabeth

Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard is an award-winning author of historical fiction.  Her novel The Beauty Doctor is a suspenseful tale that takes place in the early days of cosmetic surgery—when the world of medicine was like the Wild West and beauty doctors were the newest breed of outlaw. Temptation Rag: A Novel immerses readers in the bawdy atmosphere of vaudeville and early twentieth-century African American musical theater in a story about the price of freedom, the longing for immortality, and the human need to find forgiveness. Her 2023 release Sisters of Castle Leod, set in Scotland at the turn of the twentieth century, is an emotionally charged story of two real-life sisters torn apart by jealousy and superstition, and the impossible leap of faith that could finally bring them together.

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Elizabeth’s first love was music. As a vocalist, flutist and songwriter, she toured for nearly a decade before returning to her academic studies. A summa cum laude Communications graduate of Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), Elizabeth settled in California, promoting international expositions for the music trade. After relocating to New York City, she became the Communications Director for a national society of board-certified plastic surgeons and was instrumental in founding the internationally subscribed Aesthetic Surgery Journal. Later, she was a primary consultant to the National Cosmetic Network, in partnership with the plastic surgery program of Johns Hopkins University.

Today, Elizabeth and her family live near Phoenix, Arizona. When not writing, she loves to hike with her 100-pound yellow Lab and enjoy the surrounding natural beauty.  

Historical and Women’s Fiction

Sisters of Castle Leod is a story of two sisters who lived in the iconic Scottish castle at the turn of the twentieth century and were among the most talked-about women of their era. A Readers’ Favorite 5-star pick, this novel “will keep readers quickly turning the pages,” says Megan Chance, bestselling author of A Splendid Ruin.

“When I discovered the Mackenzie sisters, I immediately felt an affinity with both, but it was Lady Sibell Mackenzie, who later becomes the 3rd Countess of Cromartie, whose point of view I selected for the telling of this mystical and highly emotional drama. Sibell, one of the richest landowners in Scotland, is a spiritualist, a believer in reincarnation, and a popular romantic novelist. She and her sister Lady Constance are complete opposites in looks, interests, and temperament. Their many differences provided ample opportunity for me to imagine circumstances that might have led to their well-documented estrangement. Some of these circumstances were obvious, such as Constance’s propensity for unconventional, and often scandalous, behavior. But when my research uncovered an old Mackenzie family legend linked to a devastating tragedy in Sibell’s life, I knew that I’d found an intriguing fictional twist to the sisters’ real-life story.”

About her novel, The Beauty Doctor, Elizabeth says, “I have always been fascinated by the early days of cosmetic surgery and have been aware that many people don’t realize how far back it goes—even farther, actually, than the time of my novel. But I thought the Edwardian era would be a great period in which to explore the deeper meanings of beauty, power and success—especially because that was when many women began to think of such choices as rightfully theirs. My heroine, Abigail Platford, first has to overcome grief and self-doubt before she can confront forces within society seeking to define beauty and success only as they see it. Her journey is a discovery of hope, compassion and self-determination.”

Temptation Rag dramatically explores significant social and moral dilemmas of the early twentieth centurymany of which still confront us today, including cultural appropriation, gender inequality and sexual abuse of power.

“This is a story I felt was important to tell. I was drawn to it, at first, because my husband’s grandfather, Mike Bernard, was such a prominent part of the ragtime era in New York. But when my research led me to discover the significant controversies surrounding ragtime music, I realized there was a much bigger story here. My goal as a writer was to craft a novel with historical color and emotional impact, and, in the course of a compelling and fast-moving tale, to raise some essential but perplexing questions about human nature.”

Historical Fiction News from Elizabeth

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