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  Becoming a Woman of Substance

  Karma Kitaj

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  The sequel to Beguiled, Miriam Levine Butler, age 38, began her journey of finding her "true north." Living in Greenwich Village during the Great Depression of the 1930s, mired in a deteriorating marriage and caretaker of her handicapped daughter, the rosy promise of her early adulthood had fizzled. Reaching her nadir, she had an epiphany. She could and must change her life. 
  Discover how Miriam, with only a high-school diploma, but plenty of guts and perseverance, transformed herself. She resurrected her previous theater skills to refashion a world of adventure. She worked as a journalist investigator at Hallie Flanagan's innovative Federal Theatre Project, financed through FDR's New Deal, where she interviewed drought refugees in the growing fields of California. She galvanized the New York City Child Welfare Board, advocating for poor families. She muckraked for a newspaper, only to discover that the owner-publisher was unethical, according to her values. She won a seat in the New York State Assembly. 
  Like the previous book in the series, Miriam encounters real characters from history, like the ebullient Flanagan, that enliven the story and become mentors and role models who are instrumental in her eventual success. 
  Despite facing obstacles and losses, Miriam's story will inspire you about how one woman living more than one hundred years ago became a "person of substance."

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  Shanty Gold

  Jeanne Charters

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  “Charters interweaves many important topics—immigration, civil rights, women’s rights—into her exciting novel . . . An evocative portrait of South Boston.” —Kirkus Reviews After the deaths of her mother and infant sister during Ireland’s Great Famine, thirteen-year-old Mary Boland makes her way to the Queenstown harbor and onto a coffin ship bound for America. But what happens during her transatlantic passage is enough to quash the strongest of dreams. After being assaulted by crewmembers, Mary thinks of ending her life—until a young Black slave named Kamua comes to her rescue . . . Forming a bond as strong as siblings, Mary and Kam reach Boston, determined to forge their own paths. No longer an innocent soul, Mary trusts no one, putting her faith in her own instincts. It is on the teeming streets of South Boston that she’ll find a new home and a new purpose as a midwife, helping poverty-stricken women survive their pregnancies. And it is in this city, full of possibility, where Mary’s heart will heal, and find the strength to survive the harsh choices she is forced to make, and grow into a woman true to herself . . . “The story of a young Irish girl’s struggles told with an authentic, historically accurate voice.” —Sallie Bissell, author of the Mary Crow series “To read Shanty Gold is to immerse oneself in a wild ride of discovery, romance, and the search for a new way of life. . . . A tale that will grab your heart and senses, with twists and turns along the way.” —Susan Blexrud, author of the Fang series

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  The Silkworm Keeper - A...

  Deborah Swift

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  Rome 1638 
  Old sins have long shadows ~ Italian Proverb 
  Giulia Tofana never wanted to be a nun, but she is determined to atone for her past misdeeds by making her new monastery a success. 
  When an unexpected disaster closes the convent, Giulia is forced to turn to her old friend Fabio Pasello for help. Giulia still has intense feelings for Fabio and Fabio’s passion for her has never diminished. 
  But they are not the same people they were before. Giulia has taken her vows, and Fabio is apprenticed to Gianlorenzo Bernini the famous sculptor, and has become one of Bernini’s rakish libertines. They could not be further apart. 
  To add to their problems, Giulia cannot escape her reputation as a poisoner, and is soon embroiled in a plot against Fabio’s patron, Pope Urban VIII. Faced with the idea of murder, will Giulia renounce her vows or embrace them? 
  Inspired by true stories, this is a novel of nuns and courtesans, artists and priests, in the shadow and splendour of the Eternal City. 
  'Swift is a consummate historical novelist, basing her books on immaculate research and then filling the gaps between real events and real people with eloquent storytelling, atmospheric scene setting and imaginative plot lines.' - The Visitor

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  The Blood Countess - A Novel

  Andrei Codrescu

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  A “brilliant” novel of Elizabeth Bathory, the notorious sixteenth-century Hungarian aristocrat who bathed in the blood of virgins (St. Petersburg Times). Turmoil reigns in post-Soviet Hungary when journalist Drake Bathory-Kereshtur returns from America to grapple with his family history. He’s haunted by the legacy of his ancestor, the notorious sixteenth-century Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who is said to have murdered more than 650 young virgins and bathed in their blood to preserve her youth. Interweaving past and present, The Blood Countess tells the stories of Elizabeth’s debauched and murderous reign and Drake’s fascination with the eternal clashes of faith and power, violence and beauty. Codrescu traces the captivating origins of the countess’s obsessions in tandem with the emerging political fervor of the reporter, building the narratives into an unforgettable, bloody crescendo.   Taut and intense, The Blood Countess is a riveting novel that deftly straddles the genres of historical fiction, thriller, horror, and family drama.

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  David Copperfield

  Charles Dickens

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  "David Copperfield," often referred to as "The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery," is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a book in 1850. It follows the life journey of David Copperfield, from his birth and idyllic early childhood through trials and tribulations in youth, to his eventual success and happiness as an adult. The story is written in the first person and has been described by Dickens himself as his "favorite child" among his works. Throughout the narrative, Dickens addresses themes like class, family, and the challenges and rewards of personal development.

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  Whiter Than Snow

  Sandra Dallas

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  From the New York Times bestselling author of Prayers for Sale comes a powerful novel about the intersection of redemption, forgiveness, and love....On a spring afternoon in 1920, Swandyke—a small town near Colorado’s Tenmile Range—is changed forever. Just moments after four o’clock, a large split of snow separates from Jubilee Mountain high above the tiny hamlet and hurtles down the rocky slope, enveloping everything in its path.  Meet the residents whose lives this tragedy touches: Lucy and Dolly Patch, two sisters long estranged by a shocking betrayal. Joe Cobb, Swandyke’s only black resident, whose love for his daughter forces him to flee Alabama. Then there’s Grace Foote, who hides secrets and scandal that belie her genteel facade. And Minder Evans, a Civil War veteran who considers cowardice his greatest sin. Finally, there’s Essie Snowball, born Esther Schnable to conservative Jewish parents, who now works as a prostitute and hides her child’s parentage from the world.  Fate, chance, and perhaps divine providence all collide in the everyday lives of these people. And ultimately, no one is without sin, no one’s soul is whiter than snow, and no one is without the need for forgiveness.  A quintessential American voice and a writer of exquisite historical detail, Sandra Dallas illuminates the resilience of the human spirit in her newest novel.

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