Wash by Erica Wagner presents a vivid and multifaceted portrait of Washington Augustus Roebling, the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. When the bridge opened on 24 May 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Roebling did not achieve this alone; his father, John Roebling, designed and began the bridge before his death in 1869, and his wife, Emily, provided crucial support and took on increasing responsibility as Washington's health declined.
A Nonlinear Narrative Structure
Wagner, who previously wrote a biography of Roebling titled Chief Engineer, employs a nonlinear structure in this novel. She explains in the afterword that she spurns "the clock's time" for "the soul's time," jumping backward and forward in time and place through short chapters. This approach emphasizes key moments, choices, and encounters that shaped Roebling. While disorienting at times, it gives the novel a vivid intensity that a traditional narrative might lack.
Childhood in Trenton
The story begins in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1849. John Roebling, a self-made man wealthy from his wire rope business and famous for the Niagara Falls suspension bridge, is an oppressive and exacting father. Wash and his siblings keep their eyes down and voices low around him, often going hungry and facing physical punishment. Wash's childhood is deeply unhappy.
Key Relationships
Happiness comes through two individuals: Max Andermann, a fellow engineering student, and Emily Warren, his future wife. Max, based on a real person but renamed, is charming and solicitous toward the undernourished Wash. They bond over difficult childhoods and share a kiss, and Wash treasures a photograph of them together for life.
Emily brings wit and warmth, and together they become a 19th-century power couple running the bridge project almost as equals. As Wash's health fails, Emily takes on roles as caretaker, nursemaid, secretary, and increasingly, engineer. Wagner explores the emotional toll on Emily, who handles politics and practicalities while Wash focuses on plans and rock samples.
A Richly Detailed Portrait
Wagner's deep personal connection to the Brooklyn Bridge and Roebling—she admits to having been "in love with him" as a young woman—results in a richly detailed and nuanced novel. While readers may not develop a crush on Roebling, this idiosyncratic work shows his life was worth revisiting.
Wash by Erica Wagner is published by Salt (£10.99).
