During the Great War, Eleanor Morgan was allowed to teach English in her brother’s stead at Oklahoma University. She and her roommate, Helen Phipps, bonded since each had a brother “swept away by the draft”. In letters to her brother Erwin, Helen described Eleanor as “well-read, adventurous and perfectly sympathetic.” In 1918, with the war ended, Erwin passed through Norman, Oklahoma for a short visit to see Helen before embarking upon his chemical research studies at Berkeley. Uncomfortably corralled into a tea party, Eleanor and Erwin were about to cross paths. Erwin’s thoughts: “With a bow to Tennyson…[Eleanor was] wearing all that weight of learning, lightly, like a flower.” “A spark of something quite unexpected…as though she knew him…drawing him in with a magnetic pull.” Eleanor’s thoughts: “He couldn’t have known he had already carved out territory inside [my] heart…but…Eleanor couldn’t fall in love.” She longed to “wander off and indulge her own curiosity about the world…most of her girlfriends seemed intent now on charting their courses toward marriage…she was plagued instead by a longing for something else, something more.”

Back to the reality of life in the early 1920’s. Eleanor had been a placeholder in her brother Lawrence’s teaching position. She found a teaching job at Mississippi State College for Women. The mores of the times dictated that the poetry she taught needed to be “in harmony with the life and teachings of a good home .” “An unmarried woman was no longer sanctioned to move about the streets without consideration for propriety.” Meanwhile, Edwin’s chemical research trials at Berkeley were filled with frustrating lab mishaps as he tried to “unravel some of nature’s tangles, be a scientist.”

It started with just a New Year’s Greeting, a formal line or two, then very occasional notes exchanged on major holidays. Long spells between correspondence were created for protection of inner thoughts, work schedules, post office glitches or changes of residence. “How uncommon it really was to find intellectual companionship and perfect sympathy…how slender the thread of chance that brought them together. How wide the distance keeping them apart.”

Besides the proprietary norms of the early 20th century, family responsibility was at the forefront. Often a family member was resigned to an unfulfilling life caring for another. The early death of a mother might encourage the “auntie” to marry the widower and raise the children. “Papa” was in charge of greenlighting an appropriate husband. One could be disowned for not complying.

Through correspondence, Edwin drew “fortitude from words…Poetry…the only true form of alchemy…his outlook improved, will strengthened…she had become his catalyst.” Eleanor discussed poetry and books. Teaching “shouldn’t mean that she [must] narrow her student’s thoughts…but [rather] expand…ideas.”

“Love and Conductivity” by Erin Nieto is an epistolary novel based upon the correspondence between Eleanor Morgan and Edwin Phipps between 1918-1923, letters author Nieto discovered in her professional capacity as Appraiser of Art, evaluating collections at estate sales. A thoroughly enjoyable novel. Highly recommended.

Thank you BooksGoSocial/Koehler Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was exactly
what I expected and gave more. The excitement of the setting and time period was extremely immerisve and had me rushing to finish this adventure. For fans of historical fiction you can't go wrong.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC!

What a great book!! Love and Conductivity by Erin Nieto is her brand new book releasing february 11, 2025. This is my first book by the author but it had me hooked from the first page and i couldn't put it down. I managed to finish it in a single setting because the storyline and characters were compelling to read. This one exceeded my expectations and I will pick up any other books in the future written by this wonderful author!