Winter in Paradise

Hilderbrand, whose many best-selling novels are almost exclusively set on the island of Nantucket, chose the US Virgin Island of St. John as the setting for her Paradise trilogy, as a personal tribute to a place she holds dear. As Hilderbrand explains in her Author’s Note, she considers St. John “a home away from home” (ix). The novel’s development was directly impacted by the catastrophic 2017 hurricane season, during which Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the US and British Virgin Islands. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the storms caused widespread destruction to the territory’s power grid, infrastructure, and housing.

In response to this real-world tragedy, Hilderbrand made the authorial choice to set Winter in Paradise in January 2019 “as if it’s January 2017, before the hurricane” (x), allowing her to depict the titular “paradise” she knew it. By presenting a pre-disaster St. John, Hilderbrand heightens the contrast between the island’s serene surface and the turbulent emotional landscape of her characters. Her author’s note frames the setting as a loving tribute to a cherished place and a narrative device that underscores the theme of hidden deception beneath a beautiful facade.