I have a passion for telling the stories of women who've been sidelined by history, fascinating and significant leading ladies who made a meaningful mark, even though their names are now less well-known than many of the men of their time. The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post is my ninth book. Iâve written two childrenâs books, one nonfiction memoir, and six historical fiction novels, but this one feels particularly exciting and personal to me because I fell in love with the historical material, the time periods covered, and the subject herself, while researching and writing this novel. Postâs life is not taught in history classes, but should be, because she certainly makes history fun.
Virginia Hall is one woman whose stunning personal story ought to make her a household name. Robuckâs fascinating novel drops the reader into France in March of 1944, where the Nazis terrorize the population and American Special Ops leader Virginia Hall is doing all she can to subvert the occupiers and assist in the lead-up to D-Day. I barely breathed while reading this novel of one of the founding ladies of the CIA â and the best part of all? The story is true, and oh-so-inspiring.Â
âAn extraordinary profile of immense courage and daring.ââChanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Left Cuba  âIf you only read one WWII book this year, make it this one."âNatasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphans  In the depths of war, she would defy the odds to help liberate a nationâŚa gripping historical novel based on the remarkable true story of World War II heroine Virginia Hall, from the bestselling author of Hemingwayâs Girl  France, March 1944. Virginia Hall wasn't like the other young society women back home in Baltimoreâshe never wanted the debutanteâŚ
This story of a Cuban-American family sweeps the reader from Havana to Florida, from the years of Fidel Castroâs Revolution into the present-day immigrant experience. Historical fiction is a gift to readers in that it puts us squarely into historyâs most tumultuous and dramatic moments, and that is exactly what Cleeton has done with this beautiful and transportive novel of the Perez family.
A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK
âA beautiful novel that's full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice.ââReese Witherspoon
After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identityâand unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution...
Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba's high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country's growing political unrestâuntil she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary...
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancĂŠ, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, HeddaâŚ
I knew very little of William Shakespeareâs wife and even less of the backstory to the bardâs writing of Hamlet. This gorgeous book blew me away as it put Shakespeareâs wife, Anne, center stage, opening up the imagined story of the Shakespeare family and both their Stratford and London households. The play may have been the thing, but OâFarrellâs book shows us that the story behind the play is just as enthralling.
WINNER OF THE 2020 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER 2021 'Richly sensuous... something special' The Sunday Times 'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell
TWO EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.
On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a sudden fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?
Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London.
This is a haunting, beautiful, life-changing book, written by a beloved Afghan-American novelist. I read this book years ago and itâs one of those reads that will stay with me forever. At the center of this story are Mariam and Laila, two women brought together by war and upheaval, by family and love and loss. The third inspiring and heartbreaking lead character in this epic tale is the land of Afghanistan, whose story, as we see with heartbreaking clarity, is still very much one of upheaval, love, and war.Â
Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.
If youâre intrigued by the psychology of relationships this is the novel for you.
Described as a modern-day Rebecca, this is a story of a bereaved manâs obsession with his deceased married lover, Michelle. Determined to find out all he can about Michelleâs life when she wasnât with him,âŚ
A quiet Soviet librarian becomes historyâs deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story and sweeping readers from Kiev to Washington D.C. and back again to the Eastern Front, this book tells of the life of Mila Pavlichenko, or Lady Death, as she was known to the Nazis and Allies alike. Weâve all learned about World War II, about the Nazis and the Soviets and their deadly conflicts, but Quinnâs book puts us on the frontlines and allows us to experience history in a breathtaking and page-turning new way.
The brand-new historical novel based on a true story from the bestselling author of The Rose Code and The Alice Network
In the snowbound city of Kiev, aspiring historian Mila Pavlichenko's life revolves around her young son - until Hitler's invasion of Russia changes everything. Suddenly, she and her friends must take up arms to save their country from the Fuhrer's destruction.
Handed a rifle, Mila discovers a gift - and months of blood, sweat and tears turn the young woman into a deadly sniper: the most lethal hunter of Nazis.
Yet success is bittersweet. Mila is torn from theâŚ
Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie Merriweather Post was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hardâeven when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got.
Marjorieâs story, though full of beauty and grandeur, was equally marked by challenge and tumult. A wife four times over, Marjorie sought her happily-ever-after with the blue-blooded party boy, the charismatic financier, the international diplomat with a dark side, and the bon vivant whose shocking secrets would shake Marjorie and all of society. Marjorie did everything on a grand scale, especially when it came to love.
What happens to aid projects after the money is spent? Or the people and communities once the media spotlight has left?
No Dancing, No Dancing follows the return journey of a former aid worker back to the site of three major humanitarian crisesâSouth Sudan, Iraq and East Timorâin search ofâŚ
In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bareâforcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.
Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotepâsoon to become Akhenatenâjust as he declares war on Egyptâs ancientâŚ
