Anna Godbersen

Anna Godbersen writes historical fiction for young readers, combining social ambition, romance, and carefully chosen periods of American change. When We Caught Fire is set in Chicago in 1871 as Emmeline Carter prepares to marry into wealth while her childhood ties to Anders and Fiona pull her toward unresolved loyalties. The approaching Great Chicago Fire gives the private triangle a citywide crisis and places class mobility beside physical upheaval. The 2018 edition carries the HarperCollins imprint. Godbersen is also known for the Luxe series, which follows privileged Manhattan families at the end of the nineteenth century, and for the Bright Young Things novels set in the Jazz Age. Born in Berkeley and educated at Barnard College, she has repeatedly used historical settings to examine reputation, desire, friendship, and the costs of reinvention. Her books favor young women navigating rigid social expectations while the surrounding world changes faster than custom can contain. This recurring tension between maintained appearances and sudden upheaval gives her historical storytelling momentum and a precise social focus.