Chris Flanders Author
Historical Nonfiction & Narrative Storytelling
Discover the Forgotten Pioneers, Powerful Characters,
and Untold Stories That Shaped 19th-Century America
THE IMAGE IMAKER
Set in the early days of America’s first oil boom, The Image Maker follows the real lives of three extraordinary men whose work helped shape 19th-century Pennsylvania and the rise of a global industry.
In 1860, photographer John Mather arrives in Titusville determined to document a world transforming before his eyes. Working from makeshift darkrooms on wagons and creek barges, he risks danger and uncertainty to preserve the earliest visual record of the new petroleum industry.
Alongside him rises General Charles Miller, an ambitious industrialist whose influence and connections guide him into the center of power, until personal scandal threatens to unravel everything he has built. By his side, his wife Adelaide becomes a vital force within the region’s developing industrial community.
Meanwhile, Patrick Boyle, a former cavalryman turned roustabout, oil scout, and eventually editor of the Oil City Derrick, chronicles the movement’s explosive growth. His storytelling and firsthand experience help turn local events into news followed around the world.
Through their intersecting paths, The Image Maker paints a vivid portrait of courage, ambition, innovation, and the human stories behind America’s earliest energy revolution.
This narrative brings to life a region whose rugged landscape powered the country’s lamps, trains, machinery, and eventually automobiles, changing American history forever.
About Chris Flanders
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
-Marcus Garvey
Chris Flanders is a retired Nurse Practitioner and lifelong student of American history, with a special passion for the people, industries, and communities that shaped Western New York and the early Northeast. Now living in Western New York with her partner, Chris blends her love of research, regional heritage, and narrative storytelling into historically rich works that preserve and celebrate overlooked chapters of American life.
Reviews And Awards For The Image Maker
“The Image Maker is a richly textured historical novel that follows the intertwined lives of three ambitious men—John Mather, Charles Miller, and Patrick Boyle—as they pursue opportunity, legacy, and identity in the booming Pennsylvania oilfields during the Civil War era. Mather is a determined photographer driven to capture the rise of the oil industry. Miller, a soldier-turned-industrialist, channels hardship into discipline and success. Boyle, restless and full of bravado, enters the Union Army as a wide-eyed teenager and is shaped by the brutality of war. Their overlapping journeys unfold along muddy roads, oil-slicked rivers, and politically charged landscapes, creating a vivid portrait of ambition, loss, and grit in 19th-century America.
What struck me most was how real the characters felt. The humanity in their struggles, flaws, and persistence made the story come alive in a way few historical novels manage.
I would recommend The Image Maker to readers who love character-driven historical fiction with a strong sense of place and emotional depth. This book reminded me why I love historical fiction when it’s done well: it doesn’t just tell you what happened—it shows you what it felt like to live through it.”