Katherine Elberfeld’s background as author and Episcopal priest drive the story in her most recent book, An Umbrella Made for a Man. In addition to advanced degrees in writing, Elberfeld holds a Master’s in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. She was ordained to the priesthood in 1994.
Elberfeld’s previous books are The Lady of the House, Make Yourselves at Home, In the Midst of Sunflowers, To Speak of Love, and Jordan to Jerusalem.
Elberfeld grew up in Gainesville, GA, and now lives in nearby Marietta. She has two grown sons, is a Far Side aficionado, and cannot live without pickleball.
An Umbrella Made for a Man
In the 1990s, strong-willed Irene Maxwell embarks on her path toward ordination as an Episcopal priest, confident in her calling but unprepared for the hidden obstacles she’ll face. During a job interview with the dean of a cathedral—conducted uncomfortably in his car—he asks Irene questions, only to interrupt her responses by poking her leg, forcing her into silence.
Even though women in the priesthood had become more acceptable by then, Irene soon discovers that gender biases haven’t disappeared—they’ve simply gone underground, devolving into a form of guerilla warfare. Microaggressions, sexual innuendos, and dismissive attitudes from her male colleagues are constant reminders of the unspoken resistance she faces.
As Irene navigates this challenging environment, she asks herself: What can I do? Who will protect me in this world? Her journey of self-discovery ultimately leads her to create a groundbreaking safe place for other women with similar experiences.
An Umbrella Made for a Man not only follows Irene’s personal struggles but also explores the broader question of why human beings inflict harm on each other. From acknowledging the darker sides of our nature to seeking paths toward peace, Irene’s story is one of transformation as she moves from frustration and pain toward hope, joy, and love.
The Lady of the House
Faced with the sudden death of her husband Pearce, fifty-two-year-old Annie is forced to confront her past through a series of memories from her youth in Georgia. Her brother Cat, her parents, her grandmother, her first love Danny Haygood, and her daughter Maggie have all played significant roles in shaping Annie’s life.
While Annie has faced the deaths of her mother and grandmother, nothing has prepared her for the loss of her husband. In trying to cope, she distances herself from Cat and his wife Lily, but memories help her reconnect with her brother. As she searches through her past, Annie grapples with her unresolved feelings for Danny and the mystery of why she left him behind. By the novel’s end, Annie must confront her newfound solitude and begins to embrace her role as the lady of the house—a role she has never fully inhabited until now.
Make Yourselves at Home
These stories of small-town life in the American South evoke a sense of pleasant, polite community, with some blessed by strong family ties. But beneath the surface, these tales—some comic, some dark, and some both—reveal the secrets and resentments that fester in the past and haunt the present.
In the tradition of Southern writers like Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers, and Eudora Welty, Katherine Elberfeld has created eccentric characters ranging from slightly odd to downright sinister. Her stories are about choices and change, with characters confronting what life has dealt them, making mistakes—sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse.