Pipkin imagines the effect of that fire upon Thoreau, as well as three other characters, whose fictional stories are interwoven with the philosopher's.

The book was well-reviewed by a variety of critics, including Brenda Wineapple in The New York Times[4] and Ron Charles in The Washington Post.

Pipkin's second historical novel, The Blind Astronomer's Daughter, was published by Bloomsbury US in October 2016.

It centers on William Herschel's discovery of Uranus and the resulting influences on culture and society.

Pipkin has been awarded a 2016 MacDowell Colony (New Hampshire) Residential Fellowship for work on his third novel.