With his first novel, The Danish Girl, David Ebershoff earned a reputation for his ability to render a compelling love story, rooted firmly in a place and time specifically its own. In Pasadena, he chose a historical setting close to his heart: early twentieth century Pasadena and its hinterlands, the rural southern California destined to become the inland suburb of the author's youth. Pasadena follows the story of Linda Stamp, a young fishergirl born at the turn of the twentieth century to mixed German-Mexican parentage, as she finds herself conflicted between two men: one a mysterious orphan refugee of World War I, the other a wealthy young farmer. Neither man is who he seems to be. As the story unfolds, the reader is witness to a captivating setting of mixing cultural traditions and a beautiful American landscape now lost to time.

In this issue of Bold Type, listen to two of David Ebershoff's readings from Pasadena, and read the Prologue.