Other books that might interest you

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  The Doctor's Red Lamp

  Margaret Oliphant

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  The Doctor’s Red Lamp by Margaret Oliphant is a collection of stories highlighting the lives of physicians and their profound impact on patients and communities. Opening with Abe Dodge, whose cross-eyed condition brings ridicule, the arrival of Dr. Daniel Brainard transforms his life. Blending humor, compassion, and moral reflection, the tales explore medicine, family, and social acceptance.

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  The Sleeping Car Porter

  Suzette Mayr

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  FEATURED ON MICHELLE OBAMA'S INSTAGRAM 
  SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 
  WINNER OF THE 2022 GILLER PRIZE 
  WINNER OF THE 2023 GEORGES BUGNET AWARD FOR FICTION 
  FINALIST FOR THE 2023 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S AWARD FOR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE FICTION 
  PUBLISHERS WEEKLY TOP 20 LITERARY FICTION BOOKS OF 2022 
  OPRAH DAILY: BOOKS TO READ BY THE FIRE 
  THE GLOBE 100: THE BEST BOOKS OF 2022 
  CBC BOOKS: THE BEST CANADIAN FICTION OF 2022 
  SHORTLISTED FOR THE CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION 
  WINNER OF THE CITY OF CALGARY W.O. MITCHELL BOOK PRIZE 
  SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 REPUBLIC OF CONSCIOUSNESS PRIZE 
  When a mudslide strands a train, Baxter, a queer Black sleeping car porter, must contend with the perils of white passengers, ghosts, and his secret love affair 
  The Sleeping Car Porter brings to life an important part of Black history in North America, from the perspective of a queer man living in a culture that renders him invisible in two ways. Affecting, imaginative, and visceral enough that you’ll feel the rocking of the train, The Sleeping Car Porter is a stunning accomplishment. 
  Baxter’s name isn’t George. But it’s 1929, and Baxter is lucky enough, as a Black man, to have a job as a sleeping car porter on a train that crisscrosses the country. So when the passengers call him George, he has to just smile and nod and act invisible. What he really wants is to go to dentistry school, but he’ll have to save up a lot of nickel and dime tips to get there, so he puts up with “George.” 
  On this particular trip out west, the passengers are more unruly than usual, especially when the train is stalled for two extra days; their secrets start to leak out and blur with the sleep-deprivation hallucinations Baxter is having. When he finds a naughty postcard of two queer men, Baxter’s memories and longings are reawakened; keeping it puts his job in peril, but he can’t part with the postcard or his thoughts of Edwin Drew, Porter Instructor. 
  "Suzette Mayr brings to life –believably, achingly, thrillingly –a whole world contained in a passenger train moving across the Canadian vastness, nearly one hundred years ago. As only occurs in the finest historical novels, every page in The Sleeping Car Porter feels alive and immediate –and eerily contemporary. The sleeping car porter in this sleek, stylish novel is named R.T. Baxter –called George by the people upon whom he waits, as is every other Black porter. Baxter’s dream of one day going to school to learn dentistry coexists with his secret life as a gay man, and in Mayr’s triumphant novel we follow him not only from Montreal to Calgary, but into and out of the lives of an indelibly etched cast of supporting characters, and, finally, into a beautifully rendered radiance." – 2022 Giller Prize Jury

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  A Woman of Independent Means

  Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

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  Inspired by the author' s irrepressible grandmother, A Woman of Independent Means is a bestselling novel about Bess Steed Garner, a determined woman at the beginning of the twentieth century. At a time when women had few choices, Bess inherits a legacy— not only of wealth but of determination and desire. Following the novel' s success, the story was adapted into an acclaimed one-woman show starring Barbara Rush, and this audio presentation is Rush's tour de force performance of that play. Told entirely through letters, the action follows Bess' life from 1899, when she is in the fourth grade, to her death in 1977. What evolves is a moving portrait of a memorable character.

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  Death at Dartmoor

  Robin Page

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  Lord Charles Sheridan and his American wife, Kate, have heard some truly awful things about Britain’s most notorious prison. But Dartmoor and its mist-shrouded environs hold special appeal for both Sheridans. Kate hopes to find inspiration for her new Gothic novel while Charles plans to implement a fingerprinting program at the prison—and arrange a meeting with one of its most infamous inmates, Samuel Spencer. He’s convinced that Spencer—a Scotsman who admitted to killing his wife—is, in fact, innocent. What’s more, he believes he has the evidence to prove it. But Spencer continues to maintain his own guilt—and, as if to confirm it, he soon stages a daring prison escape. Lord Charles and his acquaintance Arthur Conan Doyle are most perplexed by this odd turn of events. And when a body turns up on the moor, it’s up to the two men—and the clever Kate—to discover if the missing convict is connected to this murderous new case…

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  Twelve Years a Slave: Book...

  Briefly Summaries

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  This is a concise summary and analysis of Twelve Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup.
   
  It is not the original book and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Solomon Northup.
   
  Ideal those seeking a quick and insightful overview.
   
  
   
  Twelve Years a Slave is a powerful, harrowing account of one man’s struggle for freedom in the face of unimaginable adversity. The author’s journey through slavery, from the initial shock of being enslaved to his eventual freedom, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of never losing hope. Through vivid storytelling, the author brings to life the brutal realities of slavery and challenges readers to confront the deep injustices that existed within this system.
   
  For listeners interested in personal development, the book offers invaluable lessons in resilience, hope, and the importance of maintaining a sense of purpose, even in the face of overwhelming odds. The author’s unwavering desire for freedom and his ability to survive despite physical and emotional abuse provide powerful inspiration for anyone striving to overcome their own obstacles. The book also serves as a call to action, urging listeners to reflect on the importance of standing up against injustice, wherever it may occur.

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  The Land Girls

  Victoria Purman

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  A moving story of love, loss and survival against the odds by bestselling author of The Last of the Bonegilla Girls, Victoria Purman. 
    
  It was never just a man's war... 
  Melbourne,1942 
  War has engulfed Europe and now the Pacific, and Australia is fighting for its future. For spinster Flora Atkins, however, nothing much has changed. Tending her dull office job and beloved brother and father, as well as knitting socks for the troops, leaves her relatively content. Then one day a stranger gives her brother a white feather and Flora's anger propels her out of her safe life and into the vineyards of the idyllic Mildura countryside, a member of the Australian Women's Land Army. 
  There she meets Betty, a 17-year-old former shopgirl keen to do her bit for the war effort and support her beloved, and the unlikely Lilian, a well-to-do Adelaide girl fleeing her overbearing family and theworld's expectations for her. As the Land Girls embrace their new world of close-knit community and backbreaking work, they begin to find pride in their roles. More than that, they start to find a kind of liberation. For Flora, new friendships and the singular joy derived from working the land offer new meaning to her life, and even the possibility of love. 
  But as the clouds of war darken the horizon, and their fears for loved ones - brothers, husbands, lovers - fighting at the front grow, the Land Girls' hold on their world and their new-found freedoms is fragile. Even if they make it through unscathed, they will not come through unchanged... 
  MORE PRAISE 
  'a well-researched and moving story' - Canberra Weekly

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