Charlotte Foster

The Black Bridge Charlotte Foster

The Black Bridge is a story of two widows, one self-made, and her friend who becomes an unwilling investigator. Vivian Schwartzer has made great sacrifices so that her husband can run for governor of South Dakota. When he loses the nomination, they argue violently and she pushes him off an abandoned railroad bridge into the frozen Missouri river forty feet below. Her friend, Elinore Blair, is sent out to investigate Max's death. Elinore is a widow, and comforts Vivian while she tries to discover what happened to Max. As Elinore becomes a threat to Vivian, Vivian reacts to the threat. The situation is complicated by the proposed closing of the local college and the problems of Elinore's two children. The Black Bridge is about the strength and power of women and their terrible loneliness when they lose the men they love. It is about powerlessness in politics. It raises the question of justice and the price of that justice. The Black Bridge also portrays the instant connection that occasionally occurs between a man and a woman, a connection without rhyme or reason, without plan, but always with consequences.