Meredith Jaeger: Great Writers Are Avid Readers

Meredith Jaeger is the USA Today bestselling author of The Dressmaker’s Dowry, Boardwalk Summer, and The Pilot’s Daughter. Meredith was born and raised in Berkeley, California, the daughter of a Swiss father and an American mother. She holds a BA in modern literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and lives outside San Francisco with her husband and their two young children. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Meredith Jaeger

Photo © Jenn Heflin Photography 2021

In this interview, Meredith discusses the research that went into her new historical fiction novel, The Incorrigibles, her hope for readers, and more!

Name: Meredith Jaeger
Literary agent: Jenny Bent
Book title: The Incorrigibles
Publisher: Dutton
Release date: May 21, 2024
Genre/category: Historical fiction; women’s fiction; mystery & thriller
Previous titles: The Dressmaker’s Dowry, Boardwalk Summer, The Pilot’s Daughter
Elevator pitch: Judy, a photographer fleeing her controlling husband in 1972, discovers an 80-year-old mugshot of an Irish maid named Annie, her present colliding with the forgotten history of her gentrifying San Francisco neighborhood. Impelled to learn Annie’s fate, Judy uncovers injustices whose echoes still persist—and fights to right society’s wrongs across the barriers of time.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I’m a San Francisco Bay Area native, priced out of the city where I was born and raised. As the tech boom continues to impact housing inequality, I wanted to shine a light on the neighborhoods that existed here long before the Salesforce Tower.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Urban Renewal destroyed entire communities like the “Harlem of the West,” San Francisco’s Fillmore district, yet few people are aware of this. I was inspired by Janet Delaney’s photographs documenting her gentrifying South of Market Street neighborhood in the 1970s, and I knew I wanted to feature a photographer. But I write dual-timeline fiction, so I needed another narrative. When I discovered San Quentin Prison once had female inmates, I went down a research rabbit hole, uncovering shocking prison scandals that wove their way into the novel. Like my other novels, The Incorrigibles features forgotten history and two resilient women in two different eras, weaving together their stories.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

It took about three years to go from idea to publication. I pitched this idea to my publisher in March of 2021. The idea remained pretty much the same throughout the process. In the beginning, I had a bit of trouble deciding Annie’s timeline, but then I discovered an inmate named Mary Von, who tried to murder the prison matron in 1888. Another female inmate was rumored to be pregnant in 1890, after two male convicts obtained keys to the Women’s Ward. The more I read about San Quentin Prison at the end of the 19th century, the more I wanted to incorporate the stories of these real women into my novel. I settled on the year 1890, while taking some artistic liberties. I also like that the Gilded Age was a time of great wealth inequality, enabling me to contrast Annie’s hardships as an Irish immigrant with the comfortable lifestyle of her employers.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

This is my fourth novel, so there aren’t many surprises about the publishing process anymore. I love working with my editor, Cassidy Sachs, who fell in love with my characters, Judy and Annie. One surprise—I got to keep my title! Publishers often decide to change a novel’s title, based on what will perform well. The Incorrigibles was my original title, and it got to stay!

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I was pregnant with my second child while writing this book, and I had the goal of finishing before my due date. Well, my baby came a few weeks early, and I ended up writing the rest of my draft while sleep deprived and caring for a newborn! But being pregnant didn’t stop me from visiting the San Quentin Prison Museum, the Marin History Museum, and the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library. My favorite part of my historical research was donning gloves in the Marin History Museum archives to look through the San Quentin Turnkey’s log from the 1870s, written in the most beautiful cursive.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

First and foremost, I hope readers will be transported and entertained. Reading is for pleasure after all. But I also hope readers will become curious about the impact of Urban Renewal on cities across America and inspired by the resilience of women.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Read widely in all different genres, not only the genre you write in. Great writers are avid readers, and you never know what story will inspire you.

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