Philadelphia, 1840: John Quincy Adams once hailed Rian Krieger as a “once-in-a-generation prodigy in the world of business... or perhaps mayhem.” Now sixteen, Rian is determined to one day run Krieger Locomotive, and her father, Otto, has belatedly embraced her ambitions. 

However, not all is rosy in Rian’s world. She is reconciled to being The Oddity: the girl who hates dresses and wears a shirt and trousers to work, who prefers to go unnoticed in a crowd, and if noticed, likes it when strangers mistake her for a boy. When a new development complicates things—and here comes the mayhem—she is heartbroken to learn her body is betraying her, forcing her to ask who, or what, is Rian Krieger?

Otto, confident that the depression is now behind them, starts building a costly new factory. When the depression comes roaring back, placing the Krieger family's fortunes in jeopardy, Rian must put aside ambition and body distractions to become a public and controversial businessperson—an impresario, an individual who assumes great financial risk to develop and implement an event. 

Meanwhile, in Columbia, South Carolina, Olivia Tucker and her enslaved half-brother, Topper, send inflammatory “Notes from Jasper,” stories of the everyday horrors inflicted on the enslaved, to be published in Northern newspapers. 

Their collaborator in the North? Rian Krieger.

The Impresario is the fifth novel in Rian Krieger’s Journey, a sweeping saga of ambition, self-discovery, and resistance in a transforming America.

“Rian Krieger comes of age in this masterful exploration of 1840s Philadelphia, a period when gender and sexual diversity were rarely described and never sanctioned. Rian's search for authentic gender expression and queer love pushes the boundaries of an American community struggling with issues related to suffrage and abolition. A credible, thoughtful, and well-researched gender journey within a vivid historical moment. A riveting tale.” —Carolyn Wolf-Gould, MD. Founder, Bassett Healthcare Network’s Gender Wellness Center, Oneonta, NY; Co-Editor of A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States: From Margins to Mainstream.

Book 1, The Conductor: “At the heart of the story is the tomboy Rian Krieger, a girl of German-Irish parents, just eleven at the start of the book, but whip smart, curious about everything, and wise beyond her years. Her idiosyncratic energy, inquisitiveness and sense of justice is the engine that makes the plot run and brings all the other characters and the many elements of this ambitious tale together. She's a likeable hero we can all root for.”

Book 2, The Coachman: “Roger Smith deftly interweaves fiction with nonfiction as he makes history come alive. And his skillful character development engenders a fondness for the characters, especially Rian’s father Otto, the self-emancipated slave Jules Freeman, and Rian’s Irish cousin Seamus.”

Book 3, The Blackmailer: “One does not need to have read the earlier books to enjoy this one... As those in Rian’s orbit understand, and those who underestimate her soon discover, she’s a force to be reckoned with. All of which make her a great protagonist!

by Roger A Smith
Page Count: 352
Trim Size: 6 X 9
Publish Date: April 15, 2026
Imprint: Milford House Press
Genre: Historical
FICTION / Historical / United States / 19th Century
FICTION / LGBTQ+ / Transgender
FICTION / Coming of Age