Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The House of Closed Doors | 2012 | Jane Steen | Buy |
| 2 | Eternal Deception | 2016 | Jane Steen | Buy |
| 3 | The Shadow Palace | 2017 | Jane Steen | Buy |
| 4 | The Jewel Cage | 2020 | Jane Steen | Buy |
The House of Closed Doors is a four-book historical fiction series by Jane Steen, published between 2012 and 2020. The series follows Nell Lillington through 1870s and 1880s Chicago as she works to create an independent life in a world that expects women to depend on men. The story begins in rural Illinois and moves to the booming city of Chicago.
The four books, The House of Closed Doors, Eternal Deception, The Shadow Palace, and The Jewel Cage, track Nell’s growth from a young woman with limited options to someone who has built a life on her own terms. Steen uses the specific details of Gilded Age Chicago, its industry, its social structures, and its rapid growth, as the setting for Nell’s story.