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Drawing Outside the Lines

Meet the brilliant, fearless, and ambitious Julia Morgan. In 1883, eleven-year-old Julia visits the amazing new Brooklyn Bridge—an experience that ignites within her a small but persistent flame. Someday, she decides, she too will build an astounding structure.
Growing up in horse-and-buggy Oakland, Julia enjoys daring fence walks, climbing the tallest trees, and constantly testing her mother’s patience with her lack of interest in domestic duties and social events. At a time when “brainy” girls are the object of ridicule, Julia excels in school and consistently outsmarts her ornery brothers—but she has an even greater battle ahead. When she enrolls at university to study engineering, the male students taunt her, and the professors belittle her. Through it all, however, Julia holds on to her dream of becoming an architect. She faces each challenge head-on, firmly standing up to those who believe a woman’s place is in the home. Fortunately, the world has yet to meet anyone like the indomitable Miss Morgan.
Drawing Outside the Lines is an imagined childhood of pioneering architect Julia Morgan, who left behind her an extraordinary legacy of creativity, beauty, and engineering marvels.

Author: Susan Austin

Publication Date: October 18, 2022

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“. . . Austin uses extensive research, including the expertise of a Julia Morgan scholar, to craft an inspiring origin story ideal for young readers. . . Thoroughly researched and sweetly written.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Austin imagines Julia Morgan’s life with authority. She makes an important historical figure accessible to us. Drawing Outside the Lines makes us see and feel what Morgan was up against, which makes her spectacular work all the more impressive.”
—Gennifer Choldenko, author of Al Capone Does My Shirts

“This is a simple and splendidly constructed story, history, and inspiration at a human scale. Susan Austin expertly weaves together fact and educated conjecture into a memorable tapestry of the formative years of a remarkable woman.”
—Steven Finacom, Past President, Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association

“A compelling story with a wealth of evocative details offers a memorable telling. Woven into the story are Julia Morgan’s ability, persistence, and ambition…an inspiration for any reader.”
—Margit E. McGuire, A Past President of the National Council for the Social Studies and Professor of Education, Seattle University

“This is a simple and splendidly constructed story, history, and inspiration at a human scale. Susan Austin expertly weaves together fact and educated conjecture into a memorable tapestry of the formative years of a remarkable woman.”
—Steven Finacom, Past President, Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association

“Drawing Outside the Lines opens a window into another time and place. The rich descriptions of life in Oakland, California in the early 20th century presents readers with a window into the remarkable life of Julia Morgan who challenged gender discrimination to follow her dream of becoming an architect. The added bonus is the rich historical backdrop carefully researched and presented through the imagined story of Morgan’s early life. Readers will find mirrors in Julia’s story as she describes wanting something different—something that doesn’t fit the norms of the time and place. This wonderful story encourages us to take a stand and follow our dreams—it is indeed a story for our time—one of inspiration and perseverance. A must read!”
—Margit E. McGuire PhD, Former President of National Council for the Social Studies

About the Author

As an educator, Susan J. Austin knows the minds of young readers. Her first novel, The Bamboo Garden, is set in Berkeley, California, 1923, and describes an unlikely friendship between two girls that is tested by a fierce fire that threatens to destroy their town. Currently, she is writing about twelve-year-old Goldie, a whiz kid in the kitchen who hopes that her culinary magic can help her family’s delicatessen out of a pickle in 1928 Hollywood. Her characters are always brave, strong willed risk-takers. Writing historical fiction offers her a way to educate and excite her readers about the past. She and her husband live in Northern California, surrounded by family, their splendid but fussy rose bushes, and a lifetime collection of books. Learn more at www.susanjaustin.com.

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