The Golden Hour

Fiction by Beatriz Williams

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1943 Lulu Thorpe travels to war-torn England from Nassau, the Bahamas, with one goal in mind: to get her husband back. Benedict Thorpe had been working undercover for the British government and had been captured by the Germans.

Lulu had met and married Benedict during her two years working as a magazine journalist in Nassau. She was specifically covering the society pages and focusing on the serving governor of the island: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who of course were formerly King Edward VIII of England and the divorcee Wallis Simpson. Lulu comes to England with inside information about the semi-royal couple that she hopes to leverage into her husband's rescue if possible. Her other idea is to contact Benedict's older sister for help. 

The story then goes back in time in two directions: to Lulu's 1941 arrival in Nassau, and to a Swiss asylum at the turn of the century where Benedict's parents met. It takes a rather convoluted journey through those timelines and finally returns to 1943, where Lulu is still holding out hope to get Benedict back.

This was a long book and it was somewhat confusing. I almost gave up in the middle. All in all it was a good story worth reading, but I think it might have been better if organized differently.

I also read by this author: The Summer Wives

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

 Fiction by Marie Benedict

https://www.audible.com

In 1926, mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days, sparking a huge scandal, only to return unharmed without much public explanation. This is a historical fact, but what actually happened to Mrs. Christie during that time is a mystery. 

In this book, author Marie Benedict puts forth her ideas about what really happened during those eleven days. It's pretty good.

I also read by this author: The Personal Librarian

The Reformatory

 Fiction by Tananarive Due

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

It's 1950 in Gracetown, Florida, and 12-year-old Robbie is living with his older sister Gloria in the old shack on their family's land. There had been a house there, but the Klan burned it down after their daddy, Robert Stevens Senior, was discovered trying to unionize the Negros at the mill. The audacity he showed really riled the white folks in town, and a bogus criminal charge was quickly found to issue a warrant for the arrest of Robert Stevens, causing him to flee the area and leave his children behind. 

Then Robbie kicks a white boy who tries to put an arm around Gloria, and all heck breaks loose. The local authorities see this incident as a perfect pretext to catch Robert Senior, arresting Robbie for assault and sentencing him to six months at the Boy's Reformatory outside of town, a true horror of a place. (The ghosts that haunt it are probably the most benign problem. It's BAD.) There the story really begins.

This was an amazing novel with great characters and an affecting storyline. Real and imagined events mix together to give the reader an exciting ride through the past, and also inspires a lot of thought for the present.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

 Fiction by Lisa See

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the story of Tan Yunxian, a real Chinese lady in the fifteenth century who studied women's medicine and wrote a book about her treatments. It's amazing to think of someone (a female!) that long ago working successfully in medicine.

As is usual for this author, the ancient characters come to life for the reader as the story unfolds. It's a good book!

I also read recently by this author: This Island of Sea Women

The Secret Life of Sunflowers

 Fiction by Marta Molnar

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is about Johanna Bogner, the nineteenth-century Dutch woman who married Theo Van Gogh. Apparently she was the one who made sure Vincent Van Gogh's paintings weren't lost to the world. It's fairly common knowledge that Van Gogh's works went unappreciated during his lifetime; Johanna and Theo inherited the (ostensibly worthless) lot of them after Vincent's death. Then Theo himself died and left his wife with the paintings, along with a baby to raise and almost no money. It's amazing that she believed in the paintings' worth enough to expend time and energy getting them displayed.

The story is told through the vehicle of a modern woman called Emery who inherits Johanna's diary. I was very interested in learning about the history in this book, but found the modern part ( a straight romance) less compelling. Still, this was a good novel.

The Lindbergh Nanny

 Fiction by Mariah Fredricks

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In the 1930's Charles Lindbergh and his wife were like American royalty, and Betty Gow felt she was lucky to get a position as a nanny to their baby son Charlie. But when the baby was kidnapped she, along with all of the household, fell under a cloud of suspicion.

This was a good book based on the true story of the woman who looked after little Charlie Lindbergh for most of his short life.

The Marriage Portrait

 Fiction by Maggie O’Farrell

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

You know from the beginning of the book that Duchess Lucrezia is going to die at the age of sixteen in 1561. There’s a note that explains to the reader about her, a real historical person who was rumored to have been murdered by her husband. 

So I shouldn’t have liked this book, already knowing the main character was doomed. But I loved it! 

I cannot explain how this author brings her characters to life and makes me love them so much I long to keep reading even though I know it will never end well. I should want to throw the book across the room in despair; instead I’m in love with it. The other book (see below) I read by her was literally subtitled “a novel of the plague,” and it was wonderful! I can’t explain it.

This was a really good story!!

I also read by this author: Hamnet

Once Upon a Wardrobe

 Fiction by Patti Callahan Henry

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1950 Megs is a student of mathematics at Oxford University, and her little brother George is slowly dying. Since George has recently become fascinated by the new book The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Megs sets out to meet the author and answer her brother's questions about the story. She can't save George's life, but she can bring the story of Narnia to life for him.

This was a sweet book but also a sad one.

The Postmistress of Paris

 Fiction by Meg Waite Clayton. 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is set in occupied France in 1940, but very little of it takes place in Paris. Still, the main character Nanee is a postmistress of sorts; she's an American heiress who carries messages and helps smuggle endangered artists and intellectuals out of France.

This was a good story and Nanee is based on a real American woman who did this work during the second world war. 

The Indifferent Stars Above

Subtitled: The Harrowing Story of a Donner Party Bride

Nonfiction by Daniel James Brown

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book was hard to read. There was a the terrible subject of a group of settlers we know are mostly going to die on the trip, and then the author spent a lot more time on facts that on the people in the story.

Anyways, I didn't finish it. I skimmed some to try to see who lived. Sorry.

The Second Mrs. Astor

 Fiction by Shana Abe

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story begins with Madeline Astor recounting to her newborn son the events that made her a billionaire's widow. Short version: she married man older than her father -- but NOT for his money, of course!-- and took a trip with him on the Titanic.

I couldn't get interested in this story for some reason. I feel bad about it, but there it is. At least I got the book free with prime reading!

I also read recently by Amazon Prime Kindle: The Locked Door

A Net for Small Fishes

 Fiction by Lucy Jago

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I think that both the title and the cover of this book are misleading, and not in a good-for-marketing kind of way.  This is a story from the Jacobean era of English history, centering in the court of King James VI. The cover looks like it's something mysterious and modern; the title sounds (to me) like it's something intellectual or maybe Asian? I think this marketing team should take a cue from Philippa Gregory.

You see those pretty brocaded bodices? That says "English Period Drama." That says "Royal Court Intrigue." That says "Someone Probably Gets Beheaded." And that's what this book is. 

But to be honest, it looks like even our girl Philippa's marketing team is moving away from this idea; all the current reissues of  her books are bodice-free. Oh well. 

The Sword in the Stone

 Fiction by T.H. White.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the first book in the classic The Once and Future King, a set of four books published together in 1958 about the legends of King Arthur. I got a free limited version of this from audible.com, but was not able to finish the full thirty-three hours (!!!!) before the time expired. Unsurprisingly....

This is the story that the 1963 Disney animated movie was based on, and in the beginning it had the same fun lightheartedness of that film. But later on, it got kind of boring. I think this was because the author was trying to insert modern (1950's) political statements into a classic story, but I could be wrong. 

Anyways, it's a decent story, and the characters are much less one-dimensional in the book than in the Disney version.

The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr

 Fiction by Susan Holloway Scott 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

The title of this book is interesting, and also it is pretty appropriate to the story. Aaron Burr, that infamous American revolutionary, did marry an enslaved woman and have two children with her who bore his name. But almost nothing is known about her.

Mary Emmons Burr was born around 1760 in India, came in childhood to America as a slave, and died a free black woman in 1835. What happened in between? This story is a fascinating novelization of a her life.

Hamnet

 Fiction by Maggie O'Farrell

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

William Shakespeare, the real historical person, had two daughters called Susanna and Judith with his wife Anne (or maybe Agnes.) Apparently, he also had a son who died as a child, and the name of that son was Hamnet, which may be considered the same name as "Hamlet." 

This novel is about that family.

With a book is subtitled "a novel of the plague," obviously one can't expect a happy story; still it is a very well-written and emotionally affecting novel. 

The Personal Librarian

 Fiction by Victoria Christopher Murray and Marie Benedict.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Belle da Costa Greene, librarian for the personal library of turn-of-the century billionaire J.P. Morgan, was a real person, and this book is a novelization of her life. She was definitely an amazing woman and an interesting character.

I wanted to love this book, but it was just okay. I'm not sure why, but the characters just didn't come to life completely for me. Still a qualified thumbs-up, I guess...

The Magnolia Palace

 Fiction by Fiona Davis

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lillian Carter is an artists' model in 1919. Veronica Weber is a fashion model in 1966. Both girls are linked by the Henry Clay Frick House in New York.

This story is told in both times, and a missing diamond and a possible murder lie at the center of the tale. Real people are blended with fictional ones and the result is great historical fiction!

Little

Fiction by Edward Carey

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was an interesting story about a diminutive servant girl in eighteenth-century Switzerland and France with special talents. I enjoyed it a lot because I liked the characters, but it was a bit odd.

The Ringmaster's Wife

Fiction by Kristy Cambron.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This a was a pretty good story, a fictionalized version of the life of Mable Ringling, wife of one of the famous Ringling Brothers. It was not as good as The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, another circus novel I read recently, but still worth reading.

The Paris Wife

Fiction by Paula McLain.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson. It was an interesting book with believable characters, although I had some trouble reading it because Hemingway seemed to be such an awful person, and his friends weren't so great either.

Still, from most accounts, it's probably an accurate picture.