Events

Lynn Miller is the author of Crossing the Line (authorHouse, $17.99 pb). Crossing the Line is a tale of gay lives in Philadelphia today that are shaped by long-hidden family secrets from the 19th century. When Owen Gilroy sets out to help his adolescent grandson, Sam, come to terms with his sexuality, he is forced to examine his own life by exploring that of their ancestor, Hiram Milhouse, a leading 19th-century scientist. Many lines are crossed as the mystery unfolds and the past impacts the present.             Discoveries are triggered when Owen and his partner, Brock, buy an old house in Philadelphia that was once Hiram’s. Owen is soon tested by an affair that threatens his household and nearly destroys his effort to help Sam through his coming-of-age trials. The older man’s journey into the past, like his struggle to guide--then rescue--his grandson, reveals much about the changing shape of American society and gay life today. It also reveals the universality of human emotions through different times, despite distinctive social mores.             The story of Owen and Sam unfolds against the backdrop of 9/11, terrorism, the Iraq War and human cloning. Hiram Milhouse’s 19th-century world features a runaway slave, Darwinism, the Civil War, religion and Republicans. In the end, the secrets of the past have a profound influence on the lives of both Owen and his grandson.             Although Crossing the Line is a work of fiction, one central character, Hiram MIlhouse (1832-1886), is drawn largely from the professional life of Joseph Leidy (1823-1891). Leidy was a giant in science in his day and an early supporter of Darwin in America. He served as president of Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences. His statue now greets visitors outside the Academy’s entrance--and serves as the cover illustration for Lynn Miller’s book. Other historical figures are also woven into the story, giving a rich context and immediacy to the lines between past and present, fact and fiction, that emerge when generations discover the mysteries that bind them together.