Jan 2020 Release – Amazon Link BOOK DESCRIPTION Whoever looked at an elderly lady and saw the young heroine she once was? England, 1840. For the two decades following the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen has lived alone, spending her days visiting friends and relations and quietly, purposefully working to preserve her sister’s reputation. Now in her… Read more »
Jan 2020 Release – Amazon Link BOOK DESCRIPTION Remembrance…It’s a rumor, a whisper passed in the fields and veiled behind sheets of laundry. A hidden stop on the underground road to freedom, a safe haven protected by more than secrecy…if you can make it there. Ohio, present day. An elderly woman who is more than she seems warns against rising… Read more »
May 2020 Release – Amazon Link BOOK DESCRIPTION From her beginnings as the daughter of a courtesan to her extraordinary transformation into the most celebrated actress of her era, Sarah Bernhardt is brought to life by an internationally bestselling author praised for his historical novels featuring famous women. Sarah’s highly dramatic life starts when she returns to Paris after her… Read more »
I just purchased this for a reference book on a historical figure I am studying. There’s not much out there on this interesting early 19th century enterprise. Reborn in America: French Exiles and Refugees in the United States and the Vine and Olive Adventure, 1815-1865 (Atlantic Crossings) The history of the Vine and Olive Colony in Demopolis, Alabama, has long… Read more »
The Magnetic Girl by Jessica Handler is definitely the central book that comes to mind when assessing the books I’ve read this year! Back in January I was thrilled to find this novel was soon to be released as the main character is an intriguing local historical figure in the exact town where I started working as a museum director!… Read more »
Another interesting 2019 Release… BOOK DESCRIPTION Twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob was the most famous of the Victorian fasting girls, who claimed to miraculously survive without food, serving as flashpoints between struggling religious, scientific, and political factions. In this novel based on Sarah’s life and premature death from what may be the first documented case of anorexia, an American journalist, recovering from… Read more »
It’s been a very hectic year with my new career, and I have not had the luxury of free time as I had in the past. But, I plan for 2020 to be different. I can’t lose sight of this part of me–the reader. It has been the pathway to my current endeavors, and I miss being continually immersed in… Read more »
The Hill Ghost by Callan McAuliffe In 19th century Scotland, a Tibetan mastiff sheep-dog and his eccentric seagull friend, Blue, team up to thwart a returning pack of wolves bent on savagery and revenge. Blue, an ex-seafaring bird, brings a nautical flamboyancy to the story, which culminates in a parallel tale in the Epilogue, leaving the reader to wonder if… Read more »
I met author Calvin Cherry today and his Dracula prequel, which is a biographical narrative of author Bram Stoker, looks to be an intriguing historical read! Stoker: Evolution of a Vampire by Calvin Cherry Every writer has an inspiration. Every icon holds a story. Every legend hides a dark side. Dear reader, When the boon of sleep becomes a presage… Read more »
Born to the Badge by Mark Warren This is the second installment of Warren’s fiction trilogy based on the life of Wyatt Earp (read my review of Adobe Moon). While Wyatt’s youth is behind him, his experiences have left him with heartache and guilt. Nonetheless, he has gained wisdom and his innate ability to be the calming presence in difficult… Read more »
Adobe Moon: Wyatt Earp, an American Odyssey by Mark Warren The first in Mark Warren’s Wyatt Earp trilogy, Adobe Moon opens with a young Wyatt determined to strike out on his own, yet restrained by familial duty. Once his farming days are blessedly over, he goes through various professions, learning hard lessons along the way. The timeline in this novel… Read more »
Sovrin’s Star Mississippi Connection, Book 1 by John Reyer Afamasaga www.johnreyerafamasaga.org This historical novella follows two unique characters through the post-Civil War South–a crippled orphan boy of 10, and his new friend, Tiker, a man of many trades, who was himself an orphan in England. Having grown up in the streets, he became a prizefighter, a negotiator, and a spy…. Read more »
