Helen has always been the most well-known woman from the legend of Troy, but author Pat Barker brings to life another woman who, through no will of her own, played a role even more critical to the Trojan War mythology. Briseis. The queen of a city sacked by Achilles when the war first began, she was given to him as a war prize to be his concubine. Barker’s last novel, The ... Read More...
The Personal Librarian: A Novel
It’s no secret that novels about books, book stores, libraries, or librarians are my kryptonite. I love them and can’t resist them, despite the fact that my success with them is mixed at best. So, it was with some trepidation that I decided to read The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray. I hoped that Benedict, whom I trust for her historical fiction about ... Read More...
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur
There are many types of satisfaction to be found in reading. One is the excitement of a new voice, a compelling story. But just as good (and sometimes better) is the quiet joy of opening a book and being immediately returned to a place and characters you already know. That’s the case with Alka Joshi’s The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. It’s the sequel to The Henna Artist, a novel I ... Read More...
Love and Fury: A Novel
It’s a sunny morning in 1797 London when Mrs. Blankinsop, a midwife, arrives at a home to assist with a birth. The mother-to-be greets her at the door, cheerful and excited about welcoming her second child. The two women settle in and spend the ensuing hours before the birth talking about all manner of things. After the birth there are complications and Mrs. B spends extra days ... Read More...
The Mysteries by Marisa Silver
Set in the early 1970s The Mysteries by Marisa Silver is about Margaret Ann (Miggy), the only child of Julian and Jean Brenneman. They married in their early 20s so he could avoid the Vietnam War draft and Miggy was born when Jean ran out of birth control pills. Not necessarily an auspicious beginning for a marriage or having children, but they’ve settled into their own version ... Read More...
The Bohemians: A Novel by Jasmin Darznik
I was interested in Jasmin Darznik’s new novel The Bohemians for its premise about a woman in history I knew nothing about. Dorothea ‘Dorrie’ Lange is an American photographer. If, like me, you don’t recognize the name, this should help: Migrant Mother was taken at the height of the Depression and is considered an iconic depiction of Dust Bowl reality. The ... Read More...
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