Inheritance

Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson in 1950, grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and was raised by a family who encouraged her creativity and fostered her love of storytelling. Roberts often credits her upbringing as a catalyst for her prolific career. The youngest of five children, she spent her childhood surrounded by the lively chaos of family life, which she often draws upon to create complex family dynamics in her novels (Cadwalladr, Carole. “Nora Roberts: The Woman Who Rewrote the Rules of Romantic Fiction.” The Guardian, 19 Nov. 2011).

Roberts’s path to writing was unconventional. After graduating from high school, she married and became a homemaker. Often overwhelmed with the demanding work of raising two young sons, she turned to books as a source of escape and inspiration. Her writing journey began during a blizzard in 1979, when she found herself housebound with her children and had no access to her favorite romance novels (Cadwalladr). With so much time on her hands, she decided to write her own novel instead. This initial experiment eventually grew into a career that has allowed Roberts to become one of the most popular and prolific authors of contemporary fiction. As of 2025, Roberts has published nearly 250 books under multiple pen names, including Nora Roberts, J. D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.

The influence of Roberts’s personal life on her writing is evident in Inheritance. The novel’s central themes of family legacy, resilience, and the search for self-identity reflect her deep appreciation for familial bonds and the ways in which these dynamics can shape individual lives. Roberts has often mentioned in interviews that her experiences with her children, extended family, and even the generational stories passed down by relatives have shaped her portrayal of families in her works (Cadwalladr).

Roberts’s fascination with the Gothic tradition and its atmospheric settings can be traced to her love of reading. She enjoys classic novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, which likely inspired her vividly Gothic depictions of haunted houses, family curses, and tragic love stories in Inheritance (Stephens, Regan. “Interview With Nora Roberts.” Goodreads, 4 Apr. 2016). The novel’s setting, “Lost Bride Manor,” with its history of spectral brides and generational trauma, also reflects Roberts’s ability to weave historical elements into contemporary narratives—a hallmark of her writing style. Roberts’s passion for restoring historical homes and furniture adds depth to her depiction of the manor. Roberts and her second husband, Bruce Wilder, a carpenter, have collaborated on renovating several historic properties in their hometown of Boonsboro, Maryland. This affinity for preservation shines through in Inheritance via the richly detailed descriptions of the manor’s architecture and furniture.

In the audiobook version of Inheritance, Roberts includes an author’s note sharing her early experiences with the supernatural. She recounts the fact that her grandmother Sweetheart refused to let her father cut down a beloved pussy willow tree. A week after Sweetheart’s death, Roberts’s father decided to cut down the tree, only for it to be struck by lightning that same night. Following this event, Roberts describes sensing her grandmother’s presence in the house and hearing unexplained doors opening and closing. These personal anecdotes parallel the experiences of the characters in Inheritance.

Roberts currently resides on a former Civil War battleground, where she has reported hearing the sounds of drums at night, doors closing, and even children’s voices when she is alone. Similarly, the Inn BoonsBoro, a historic property owned by Roberts and her husband, is reputed to be haunted. Roberts drew upon these real-life experiences to create the hauntings that permeate Inheritance.