Author: Dorothy Schwab Grateful Reader DFW

I have loved reading and meeting authors for as long as I can remember! As an elementary teacher I integrated literature into every part of the core curriculum. Since my retirement, reading and flower gardening are my two favorite pastimes. I look forward to sharing my passion for reading by providing reviews of the books I've read. Perhaps you will join me as I explore new authors and genres!

WOMEN IN HISTORY: Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

Publication March 12, 2024-Berkley Publishing-528p

"One of the most consequential women of modern history the you might not know about!"
“One of the most consequential women of modern history the you might not know about!”

Book Summary

American heroine Frances Perkins

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.

When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.

But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.

Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This is a compelling behind the scenes look at the life of Frances Perkins on her way to becoming the first female presidential cabinet member serving as Secretary of Labor through all four of FDR’s history making terms as president of the United States. A chance meeting of FDR at an afternoon society tea-dance is the turning point in Perkins’ career. Stephanie Dray’s impeccably researched novel keeps the reader’s focus on work-life balance as Frances juggles her burgeoning social and political activities with her family life.

I was enthralled with Frances Perkins’ determination and resolve to bring the horrid, unsafe working conditions in factories to the government’s attention and her tireless work to pass legislation calling for vast improvement in safety conditions and limiting work weeks to fifty-four hours. Dray’s unforgettable details and descriptions of a monumental time in U.S. history include tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, the Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Great Depression, FDR’s rise in the Democratic Party, Women’s Suffrage, and World War 11. I was most impressed with the courage and fortitude shown by Frances Perkins as she forged her place in history as a woman with a brilliant mind who became advisor, and confidant to our 32nd president. Her service to the U. S. is most evident in the New Deal and the Social Security Act which she was instrumental in convincing Congress to implement.  

Stephanie Dray’s Becoming Madam Secretary is a terrific force, very much like Frances Perkins and her infamous tricorn hat.

The Author’s Note is filled with pages and pages of delicious details and facts that are not included in the novel. Stephanie poured over the 5000 page transcript of Frances Perkins’ oral history, newspaper headlines, appointment books and even interviewed her grandson! The novel left me so impressed and thirsting for even more background and news that I watched FDR, a documentary in three episodes. Yes, Frances Perkins is right there in the photographs!

https://francesperkinscenter.org/learn/her-life/rances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman to serve as a cabinet secretary, was the driving force behind the New Deal, credited with formulating policies to shore up the national economy following the nation’s most serious economic crisis and helping to create the modern middle class. She was in every respect a self-made woman who rose from humble New England origins to become America’s leading advocate for industrial safety and workers’ rights. More about Frances Perkins here: https://francesperkinscenter.org/learn/her-

STEPHANIE DRAY is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into many languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. Now she lives in Maryland with her husband, cats, and history books.

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan

Publication March 12, 2024-Random House, Ballantine-368pp.

Book Summary

When the Blitz imperils the heart of a London neighborhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to save the community’s beloved library in this heartwarming novel based on true events from the author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.

When new deputy librarian, Juliet Lansdown, finds that Bethnal Green Library isn’t the bustling hub she’s expecting, she becomes determined to breathe life back into it. But can she show the men in charge that a woman is up to the task of running it, especially when a confrontation with her past threatens to derail her?

Katie Upwood is thrilled to be working at the library, although she’s only there until she heads off to university in the fall. But after the death of her beau on the front line and amid tumultuous family strife, she finds herself harboring a life-changing secret with no one to turn to for help. 

Sofie Baumann, a young Jewish refugee, came to London on a domestic service visa only to find herself working as a maid for a man who treats her abominably. She escapes to the library every chance she can, finding friendship in the literary community and aid in finding her sister, who is still trying to flee occupied Europe.

When a slew of bombs destroys the library, Juliet relocates the stacks to the local Underground station where the city’s residents shelter nightly, determined to lend out stories that will keep spirits up. But tragedy after tragedy threatens to unmoor the women and sever the ties of their community. Will Juliet, Kate, and Sofie be able to overcome their own troubles to save the library? Or will the beating heart of their neighborhood be lost forever?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Blitz Spirit of 1940 comes alive in a London underground tunnel. This endearing nod to the power of books and reading is based on the true account of the bombing of the Bethnal Green Library only a few weeks into the London Blitz. Jennifer Ryan’s characters have an indomitable spirit that shines brilliantly in the darkest hours of London’s history. Told from the point of view of three young women, each with a personal need for escape in order to survive, Ryan drops readers into the routine of nightly air raids, grabbing blankets and rations, praying to survive another night of bombing. She brings each young girl’s journey to a crucial turning point and as their paths cross, they join in a common goal. Juliet is really the main character who brings everyone else together through her love of books. The novels Juliet loves to curl up with include secrets, suspense, mystery, history, and even romance. She would adore The Underground Library!  Characters include key young men who are away at war, Mrs. Ottley, the Miss Ridley’s, and Marigold, each adorable quirky “readers” Juliet adds to her book club, and who play a significant role in saving the underground library. This novel is a glorious homage to reading and how it changes perceptions, broadens minds, and creates a supportive and nurturing community.  

I am in awe of the spirit and human connection created in the underground communities in the tube stations all over London. These stations provided all kinds of services, theater and musical entertainment, childcare and medical facilities. The Underground Library is just like every library: a place to celebrate each other and the power of the human spirit through reading.

Jennifer Ryan is the author of National Bestseller THE CHILBURY LADIES’ CHOIR, THE SPIES OF SHILLING LANE, THE KITCHEN FRONT, THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE, AND THE UNDERGROUND LIBRARY. Her writing has featured in Literary Hub, Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, The Daily Mail, The Irish Times, The Express, BBC Online, YOU Magazine, The Simple Things Magazine, and Good Reading Magazine. Previously a book editor with The Economist, DK, and the BBC, she moved from London to Washington, DC after marrying, and she now lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children. Her novels are inspired by her grandmother’s tales of the war in Britain.

Further Reading-This is just one example. Jennifer’s Author’s Note is filled with amazing stories and suggestions for further reading. Always a favorite part of a book for the Grateful Reader!

The London Transport Museum: https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/

From the website: “This photo of people sheltering from an air raid in Piccadilly Circus station was taken by Tunbridge Sedgwick.

During the intensive bombing of the Blitz from September 1940 to May 1941, thousands of people flocked to shelter in deep level Tube stations, bedding down for the night on walkways, platforms and even de-electrified tracks.

This photo is on display in our new exhibition Echoes of the Blitz, which highlights the parallels between underground sheltering in London during the Second World War and in Ukraine today.”

The Memory of Lavender and Sage by Aimie K. Runyan

Publication March 5, 2024-Harper Muse Romance-Women’s Fiction-400pp

Book Summary

Food critic Tempèsta Luddington has always felt like the odd person out in her family, ever since she lost her beloved mother at the tender age of thirteen. When her workaholic father passes fifteen years later, Tempèsta is not surprised that the majority of the considerable family money will pass to her dutiful younger brother, Wal. Still, she is left a modest remembrance from her mother, and for the first time Tempèsta has a world of choices before her.

Lost in grief and hoping to reconnect with her memories and her mother’s past, she uses the money to buy a ramshackle manor house in Sainte-Colombe, a small village in Provence, where her mother had grown up. But she is greeted with more questions than answers. Her welcome, especially by the town’s stodgy mayor, is cold at best, and she finds herself wondering if the entire experiment was a mistake.

Yet she stays, stubbornly sticking it out, slowly learning that her mother’s legacy was more than just a nest egg. Through her mother and the village, Tempèsta learns the value of community and friendship, the importance of self-confidence, and the power of love and trust. What’s more, she sees for herself that there is magic and beauty in the everyday—even something as simple as a sprig of lavender and sage.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Provence on a plate! Aimie Runyan delivers a delectable novel filled with flavorful characters searching for family and identity. Readers travel to Sainte-Colombe in the rolling hills of Provence to villages lined with terra-cotta tiled roofs and brightly painted shutters; housing families that have lived here for generations. The villagers have locked away grief, rejected family expectations, and the need for change.

Main character, Tempesta’s only connection to her late mother is a quilt and the memory of her scent, lavender and sage. Runyan’s descriptions of the landscapes are filled with the same vibrant colors that make up the quilt. Sainte-Colombe, declining in population, is a village with a café, a kitchen shop, and an outdoor market on Fridays. The history of the old language, Occitan, the suspicions and beliefs of villagers, and the challenges of accepting the past are revealed through colorful, endearing villagers who are helping Tempesta adjust from the hurried life of a NYC restaurant critic to a life where the “soil vibrates with potential.” Readers will relax as seeds of hope are sown in the characters. Tempy’s greenhouse filled with herbs is the perfect place for reflection as Runyan uses analogies of growing and plants to enrich the story.

The Memory of Lavender and Sage is a novel of contemporary fiction filled with optimism and finding joy in making things new again. Experience village life in Provence and the sheer beauty in rolling hills of lavender. But best of all become aware of the delicious aroma of herbs mingled with revelations that come from discovering one’s true gift.

Memory of Lavender and Sage takes a trip to Lavender Ridge Farms near Gainesville, Texas-Products similar to Tempesta’s! https://www.lavenderridgefarms.com/

The Romanov Brides: A Novel of the Last Tsarina and Her Sisters by Clare McHugh

Publication March 12, 2024-William Morrow-384pp

Book Summary

From the author of A Most English Princess comes a rich novel about young Princess Alix of Hesse—the future Alexandra, last Empress of Imperial Russia—and her sister, Princess Ella. Their decision to marry into the Romanov royal family changed history. They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia—and the Romanovs. Defying the Queen’s dire warnings, Ella weds the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Serge. Cultivated, aloof, and proud, Serge places his young wife on a pedestal for all to admire. Behind palace gates, Ella struggles to secure private happiness. Alix, whisked away to Russia for Ella’s wedding, meets and captivates Nicky—heir apparent to the Russian throne. While loving him deeply, Alix hears a call of conscience, urging her to walk away. Their fateful decisions to marry will lead to tragic consequences for not only themselves and their families, but for millions in Russia and around the globe.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Students of history have read factual accounts of the tragic fate of the Romanovs and historical fiction novels filled with hope and the possibility that some may have survived. The Romanov Brides focuses on two granddaughters of Queen Victoria and the beginning of their journey as brides to the foot of the Russian Orthodox altar.

The opening pages are thankfully filled with the family trees of English Queen Victoria and Russian Tsar Alexander 11. I referred to these often while reading and have such respect for experts on British and Russian history. Princess Elisabeth, “Ella”, and her younger sister, Alix, “Sunny,” are the central characters, though there is detail about the lives of the other 5 siblings. Clara McHugh’s extensive research is based on the sisters’ diaries and letters, and those of people closest to them. Readers know the outcome from history, but the intrigue, manipulation and interference by Queen Victoria and the oversight of the Russian royals, add to the surprising and often maddening choices and plot lines.  I felt a closeness to Ella’s many fears: the vastness of Russia, the immense palaces, a foreign tongue, the prospect of leaving her family and denouncing her religion. The descriptions and dialogue evoke all the senses and an array of feelings, from grief and despair to giddy first love sensations. Clara McHugh portrays compassionate insights into the contemplations and intense loyalties Alix deals with as she waivers back and forth in deciding whether to wed Nicky and denounce her Lutheran faith for the Orthodox doctrine.

 I found myself caring deeply for both sisters and wishing someone would’ve convinced them to make different choices, though certainly not any of Queen Victoria’s suggestions, which were mostly first cousins. To Ella and Alix’s credit they marry for love and devote their short lives to being supportive wives and mothers.  Clara McHugh’s The Romanov Brides gave me that curious feeling one gets upon discovering a diary, giving an over the should look to see if anyone’s watching and then opening it up for just a quick peek!

Born in London, Clare McHugh grew up in the United States and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in European history. She worked for many years as a newspaper reporter and later magazine editor. She has also taught high school history and reviewed books for the Wall Street Journal and the Baltimore Sun. The mother of two grown children, she lives with her husband in Washington, DC, and Amagansett, New York.

Further research led to Clare McHugh’s informative website with backstory and details on her writing. McHugh’s first novel, A Most English Princess, is also featured. https://www.claremchugh.com/

“Behind the Book – More about the characters, the setting, and the “truth” of The Romanov Brides“

“WHO WERE IRENE, VICTORIA, ELLA AND ALIX OF HESSE?“

https://www.claremchugh.com/

The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman

Publication February 20, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-368pp

Book Summary

Set in New York City in the heady aftermath of World War II when the men were coming home, the women were exhaling in relief, and everyone was having babies, The Trouble With You is the story of a young woman whose rosy future is upended in a single instant. Raised never to step out of bounds, educated in one of the Sister Seven Colleges for a career as a wife and mother, torn between her cousin Mimi who is determined to keep her a “nice girl”—the kind that marries a doctor—and her aunt Rose who has a rebellious past of her own, Fanny struggles to raise her young daughter and forge a new life by sheer will and pluck. When she gets a job as a secretary to the “queen” of radio serials—never to be referred to as soaps—she discovers she likes working, and through her friendship with an actress who stars in the series and a man who writes them, comes face to face with the blacklist which is destroying careers and wrecking lives. Ultimately, Fanny must decide between playing it safe or doing what she knows is right in this vivid evocation of a world that seems at once light years away and strangely immediate.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Trouble With You is about choosing. Making choices best for oneself or for the influencers of those decisions. Readers are swept along the bustling sidewalks of 1940’s New York City when radios were the focus for home entertainment and news. The radio series or ‘soaps’ is where Fanny finds herself working as a secretary.

Author Ellen Feldman’s narrative is filled with conflict between characters through Fanny’s personal interactions and business relationships. Feldman does an excellent job illuminating the struggle Fanny experiences in finding a personal and work life balance, connecting with modern day dilemmas. Fanny’s daily and long-term choices are influenced by her daughter, Chloe, her cousin, Mimi, and her Aunt Rose. Feldman overlaps these familial influences with social, cultural, and political events of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. The evolving popularity of television replacing radios for entertainment and news sources and the fear of polio has a direct impact on decisions involving Chloe. The mainstream news reporting on Senator Joseph McCarthy and the undercurrent of suspicions circulating in NYC and Hollywood regarding a Blacklist of alleged Soviet spies and sympathizers by the House Un-American Activities Committee, HUAC, has immediate and lifelong impact on Fanny’s decisions when/if she chooses a husband and how she declares her independence.  

Feldman creates tension and relief through dialogue, activities, and decisions with the men in Fanny’s life, Max, Ezra, and Charlie. Max is the love of Fanny’s life and is an omniscient character with great influence over Fanny’s relationships. Will Fanny make her choice based on what’s best for herself or for others? In this post World War ll novel, Fanny is “raising the future” while forging a new life.

Ellen has lectured extensively around the country and in Germany and England, and enjoys talking to book groups in person or via the web.

She grew up in northern New Jersey and attended Bryn Mawr College, from which she holds a B.A. and an M.A. in modern history. After further graduate studies at Columbia University, she worked for a New York publishing house.

Ellen lives in New York City and East Hampton, New York, with her husband and a terrier named Charlie.

The Women by Kristin Hannah, Healing Wounds-Cpt. Diane Evans

Publication February 6, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-480p

Book Summary

The missing. The forgotten. The brave… The women.

From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels—at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.
“Women can be heroes, too.”

When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has all too often been forgotten. A novel of searing insight and lyric beauty, The Women is a profoundly emotional, richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose extraordinary idealism and courage under fire define a generation.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Women tells the story of a generation of young men and women grieving the loss of their innocence in Vietnam and the bonds of female friendship created between the nurses who served.

Kristin Hannah relaxes readers in the tropical setting of the lush, privileged lifestyle in Coronado, California in the late 1960’s. Just as readers are settled into the lavish parties, simple childhood activities like bonfires, beach rides and surfing, Hannah’s main “woman” Frances McGrath decides to become a nurse and follow her brother, Finley, to Vietnam. The gut punch descriptions of disgusting conditions at the Thirty-Sixth Evac hospital suck readers right in with the hot, sticky, bug ridden, rat infested living quarters. Readers will be squirming, squealing, and gagging along with the nurses as Frankie’s days and nights run into each other and she evolves into a highly regarded combat nurse. The historical background supported by Hannah’s years of research is evident in the intricate details of the jungles, scenes from helicopters, and villages visited for medical assistance, including the lifesaving operations and amputation scenes. The actual names of identifiable places are retained in the novel; Saigon, Ho Chi Minh Trail, Pleiku, Base Long Binh, and the hospitals. Hard to read; harder to believe that soldiers, doctors, and nurses had the courage and stamina to survive and endure. The turbulent world comes alive, and readers will need a break along with the nurses and doctors!  

The plot continues with Frankie returning to the U. S. after two tours in Vietnam. At the airport she is shamed and spit upon and readers relive the protests, sit-ins, and despicable treatment of the returning veterans. Hannah reveals the maddening and frustrating responses during the post-war years as Frankie seeks help with anxiety, anger and guilt.  The development of Frankie’s mom, “held together with vodka and hairspray,” and her guilt-ridden, workaholic dad takes readers to the depths of grief from a parent’s point of view, while they grapple with Frankie’s depression and addictions. Strong plot threads are of Frankie’s relationship with her parents, the unwavering support and encouragement from her “women” from Vietnam, Ethel and Barb, and the loves of her life.

Kristin Hannah recreates this world of the late 60’s, early 70’s as she weaves social, political, and historical details of American culture into the plot smoothly and seamlessly. “Back in the world” as the Vietnam soldiers referred to the U. S, a few of the pop music icons were Elvis, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles. Long hair, moustaches, and polyester leisure suits on men, and miniskirts, hot pants, and ironed straight hair on women were the thing! The papers were filled with the latest Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton feud, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr, the election of Nixon, the first landing on the moon, the Paris Peace Accord, and the trial of Lt. William Calley at My Lai.

There are gaping wounds because of the treatment of the women and men who served our country during the Vietnam War. Reading The Women will certainly be a reminder to acknowledge men and women soldiers with, “Thank you for your service,” no matter when or where they have served.

 Freedom is bought with sacrifice. The Women-5 Stars

Songs and Artists from The Women:

East Coast Girls, These Boots are Made for Walking, Monday-Monday, Come on Baby Light My Fire, When a Man Loves a Woman, Happy Together, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Purple Haze, Good Lovin, We Got to Get Out of This Place, Hey Jude, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Born to Be Wild, John Denver, American Pie, Nights in White Satin, Elvis, Time in a Bottle, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Roberta Flack, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Hooked on a Feeling

HEALING WOUNDS BY CAPTAIN DIANE CARLSON EVANS

https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Wounds-Vietnam-10-Year-Washington/dp/1682619125

What is the price of honor? It took ten years for Vietnam War nurse Diane Carlson Evans to answer that question—and the answer was a heavy one.

In 1983, when Evans came up with the vision for the first-ever memorial on the National Mall to honor women who’d worn a military uniform, she wouldn’t be deterred. She remembered not only her sister veterans, but also the hundreds of young wounded men she had cared for, as she expressed during a Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.: “Women didn’t have to enter military service, but we stepped up to serve believing we belonged with our brothers-in-arms and now we belong with them at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. If they belong there, we belong there. We were there for them then. We mattered.”

In the end, those wounded soldiers who had survived proved to be there for their sisters-in-arms, joining their fight for honor in Evans’ journey of combating unforeseen bureaucratic obstacles and facing mean-spirited opposition. Her impassioned story of serving in Vietnam is a crucial backstory to her fight to honor the women she served beside. She details the gritty and high-intensity experience of being a nurse in the midst of combat and becomes an unlikely hero who ultimately serves her country again as a formidable force in her daunting quest for honor and justice.

CPT Diane Carlson Evans, Army Nurse Corps, Republic of Vietnam (born 1946) is a former nurse in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and the founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial located at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Evans initiated and led the effort to completion. A two minute video of the memorial:  https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-reb-ext_onelaunch&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-ext_onelaunch&hspart=reb&p=Healing+Wounds+By+Captain+Diane+Carlson+Evans&type=0_1025_102_1080_107_221027#id=3&vid=accceef0292120b06e9e52977e17a05b&action=click

The Queens of London by Heather Webb

Publication February 6, 2024-Sourcebooks-Historical Fiction 368p

Book Summary

Maybe women can have it all, as long as they’re willing to steal it.

1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA “Diamond Annie,” is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she’s determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She’s ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes of which no one has ever seen. Alice demands absolute loyalty from her “family”—it’s how she’s always kept the cops in line. Too bad she’s now the target for one of Britain’s first female policewomen.

Officer Lilian Wyles isn’t merely one of the first female detectives at Scotland Yard, she’s one of the best detectives on the force. Even so, she’ll have to win a big score to prove herself, to break free from the “women’s work” she’s been assigned. When she hears about the large-scale heist in the works to fund Alice’s new dynasty, she realizes she has the chance she’s been looking for—and the added bonus of putting Diamond Annie out of business permanently.

A tale of dark glamour and sisterhood, Queens of London is a look at Britain’s first female crime syndicate, the ever-shifting meaning of justice, and the way women claim their power by any means necessary, from USA Today bestselling author Heather Webb.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Queens of London is based on real life Diamond Annie, her gang the Forty Elephants, and first female detective Lilian Wyles- or Inspector Wyles, as she quickly corrects. Readers get a sneak peek behind the swinging doors of pubs in the East End and posh entries into the shops of Mayfair.  The suspenseful plot is advanced by four main characters.

The antics and heists of the female gang, the Forty Elephants, with Diamond Annie as the Queen, continue to be a major focus for Scotland Yard in 1925 London. The main character is based on the real-life Alice Diamond. Webb develops Annie so deeply that I changed from being dubious of her motives to being very anxious that she might get caught and be sent back to prison! Somewhere, deep down, Annie does have a heart covered by years of scars. Inspector Lily Wyles is also based on one of the first female detectives. She begins at Scotland Yard with “womanly duties” such as watching for shoplifters and orphan chasing. As the plot progresses this former nurse begins to question justice and her rigid rule following.  Her tolerance for finding logic relaxes in a very satisfying turn of events.

Dorothy, a vibrant, unique, shop girl and aspiring designer, reveals her dreams of moving out from her mum’s flat to an independent lifestyle. A fictional character, filled with angst at finding a husband or following her dreams, she’s very typical of young girls of that time.  The development arc is deftly drawn and will keep readers engaged and cheering for Dorothy.  

The ten-year-old beautiful, brown skinned Hira Wickham is a heart stealer who reads etiquette books, deals with her wealthy, hateful uncle, and makes gut-wrenching decisions. Hira is smart, brave, and with her lovable, street-smart dog, Biscuit, tugs at all the emotional heartstrings.

Diamond Annie and the Forty Elephant’s next major heist is just the case that could change everything for the female crime syndicate and Inspector Wyles. An immensely nerve wracking but exhilarating chase!

Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of nine historical novels, including her up and coming Queens of London set to release in 2024, and her most recent novels, The Next Ship Home and Strangers in the Night. In 2015, Rodin’s Lover was a Goodread’s Top Pick, and in 2018, Last Christmas in Paris won the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. Meet Me in Monaco, was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA award in the UK, as well as the 2019 Digital Book World’s Fiction prize. Three Words for Goodbye was a Prima Magazine’s 2022 Book of the Year. To date, Heather’s books have been translated to seventeen languages. She lives in New England with her family and a mischievous kitten. (Books in bold are books I’ve read and loved!)

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester

Publication: January 30, 2024-Forever (Grand Central)-Historical Fiction-496pp

Book Summary

“Vogue meets Daisy Jones & the Six,” says New York Times bestseller Kate Quinn, in this bold novel of feminism and fashion set in 1970s New York City and the historic designers’ showdown in Versailles.

Everyone remembers her daringly short, silver lamé dress. It was iconic photo capturing an electric moment, where emerging American designer Astrid Bricard is young, uninhibited, and on the cusp of fashion and feminism’s changing landscape. She and fellow designer Hawk Jones are all over Vogue magazine and New York City’s disco scene. Yet she can’t escape the shadow of her mother, Mizza Bricard, infamous “muse” for Christian Dior.  Astrid would give anything to take her place among the great houses of couture–on her own terms. I won’t inspire it when I can create it.

But then Astrid disappeared…

Now Astrid’s daughter, Blythe, holds what remains of her mother and grandmother’s legacies. Of all the Bricard women, she can gather the torn, painfully beautiful fabrics of three generations of heartbreak to create something that will shake the foundations of fashion. The only piece missing is the one question no one’s been able to answer: What really happened to Astrid?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Three generations of Bricard designers take to the runway in Natasha Lester’s intriguing mystery of a famous designer’s disappearance from the Palace of Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors in 1973.  Leaving only a blood-stained white dress as a clue, the missing designer, Astrid Bricard, remains the central character as her mother, Mizza, muse to Christian Dior, and Blythe, Astrid’s daughter, reveal their own stories in alternating chapters. There are many questions to be answered and Lester’s plot unfurls like chiffon from its bolt. The patterns seem to be set, only to be redesigned and refit depending on the Bricard women’s level of guilt, pain, and pure stubbornness. Lester’s vivid settings of underground escape tunnels in Paris, the Viet Nam War, and the Equal Rights Amendment sink readers into the political events of the early years of WWll and the 1970’s.  The rich and famous Jackie Kennedy, Princess Grace of Monaco, and the Duchess of Windsor make appearances at events and in the current magazines of the day, Vogue and Life. Lester capturesJohn Fairchild’sintolerable personality and keeps readers infuriated with his “In and Out” column.  Scenes at real venues, Electric Circus and Cheetah, with ever present paparazzi trying to get a picture of Astrid in the silver lamé dress, along with pop culture icons Mick Jagger and Bianca, depict the ‘breakneck, brash’ vibe of NYC in contrast with the ‘sultry, aloof’ streets of Paris. Lester’s research into the details of the famous competition involving designers, situations, and interactions revealing their personalities is a treat for fashionistas as American designers Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, and Halston match wits and design creativity against French icons Yves St. Laurent, Christian Dior, and Givenchy. Changing the show order and screaming shout downs were part of the toxic atmosphere at Versailles! Was it a French or American designer? More importantly, what happened to Astrid Bricard?  

Enter the strange and mysterious world of fashion as Natasha Lester’s designing women of three generations, each an expert at leaving, create their own “pièce de résistance.”

I always look forward to the author’s notes where the author separates fact from fiction. Natasha Lester’s note includes many interesting bits, so don’t skip it. She recommends the 2016 documentary Battle at Versailles for a real live look at the famous competition.

Do you remember wearing hotpants or kneeling on the floor to have the length of your skirt measured? The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard was written with you in mind!

Natasha Lester is the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Seamstress, The Paris Orphan and The Riviera House, and a former marketing executive for L’Oréal. Her novels have been translated into many different languages and are published all around the world.
When she’s not writing, she loves collecting vintage fashion (Dior is a favorite!), practicing the art of fashion illustration, learning about fashion history—and traveling to Paris. Natasha lives with her husband and three children in Perth, Western Australia.

Daughters of Green Mountain Gap by Teri M. Brown

Publication Jan. 23, 2024-Atmosphere Press-Historical Fiction-315pp

Book Summary

An Appalachian granny woman. A daughter on a crusade. A granddaughter caught between the two.

Maggie McCoury, a generational healer woman, relies on family traditions, folklore, and beliefs gleaned from a local Cherokee tribe. Her daughter, Carrie Ann, believes her university training holds the answers. As they clash over the use of roots, herbs, and a dash of mountain magic versus the medicine available in the town’s apothecary, Josie Mae doesn’t know whom to follow. But what happens when neither family traditions nor science can save the ones you love most?

Daughters of Green Mountain Gap weaves a compelling tale of Maggie, Carrie Ann, and Josie Mae, three generations of remarkable North Carolina women living at the turn of the twentieth century, shedding light on racism, fear of change, loss of traditions, and the intricate dynamics within a family. Author Teri M. Brown skillfully navigates the complexities of their lives, revealing that some questions are not as easy to answer as one might think.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A mother-daughter “tug of war” with a triumphant winner! Through the emotions and guilt laden struggles of single parenting, nurse Carrie Ann butts heads with her mother Maggie, a granny woman or healer, as they navigate the hills and hollers of North Carolina in the 1890’s. Maggie’s skills are backed by the folklore of previous generations and years of learning from the local Cherokee medicine man. Carrie Ann believes her higher-level education and medical training far outweigh the herb medicines from plants and roots, along with chanting of songs her mother uses. Deftly woven into the plot is the bigotry of Carrie Anne and her neighbors against the Cherokee, their traditions, and the trust Maggie has placed in their methods.  Author Teri M. Brown captures the innermost feelings of guilt and self-doubt when disease spreads and deaths result as mother and daughter each defend their own approaches to healing. In the middle of this battle is Carrie Anne’s own daughter, Josie Mae, who was raised by Maggie, and has developed an interest in becoming a healer like her grandmother.   

The chapters presented from each of the three women’s point of view journal the diseases, pregnancies, and even the seasons on Green Mountain from 1893-1926. Brown does an excellent job persuading readers with convincing situations and outcomes, that each approach-modern medicine or the granny woman- is the right one. When certain death is on the horizon Brown triumphantly illuminates the magical ingredient needed in the gift of healing. Along with it, readers will also find forgiveness and understanding steeped into the healing broth of Daughters of Green Mountain Gap. 

Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M. Brown now calls the North Carolina coast home. In 2020, she and her husband, Bruce, rode a tandem bicycle across the United States from Astoria, Oregon to Washington DC, successfully raising money for Toys for Tots. Teri’s debut novel, Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, is a historical fiction set in Ukraine, her second, An Enemy Like Me, is set in WWII, and her third, Daughters of Green Mountain Gap, is a generational story about Appalachian healers.

Links to Purchase:

Author’s Website: https://www.terimbrown.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Green-Mountain-Teri-Brown/dp/B0CM7W7JHQ/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144304086?ean=9798891320567

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/daughters-of-the-green-mountain-gap-teri-m-brown/20744004?ean=9798891320567

Diva by Daisy Goodwin

Publication January 23, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-336 pp.

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The curtain rises in 1940’s Athens, the house spotlight on awkward 16-year-old Maria Callas. Daisy Goodwin introduces Maria’s main influencers through flashbacks to her childhood and how she felt exploited and unloved. Maria’s future successes and travels around the world are woven into her life story through memories and perspectives of Elvira de Hidalgo, her singing teacher, Franco Zeffirelli, her director and close friend, and the veteran of society, Elsa Maxwell. It was Elsa’s orchestrations that brought the two famous Greeks, Aristotle Onassis, and Maria Callas, together, as they bonded over troubled childhoods. Readers are gently introduced to Greek terms and operas like Carmen, Tosca, and Traviata through the “queen of opera’s” voice challenges and points of view of singer and director.

From the October 1968, Onassis/Kennedy wedding, across continents, islands and opera houses, this novel is filled with movie stars, royalty, famous political figures, and the performance details of JFK’s iconic 45th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden.

Maria sometimes doubted the support of her family, her husband, and Ari, her lover, but she never doubted her own talent. Was she manipulated? Does Maria end up like the characters she portrays, dying for love in the third act or does she find her own ending?

Daisy Goodwin’s Diva, presented in operatic performance format, will have readers anticipating the encore and counting the curtain calls- Bravo!

Daisy Goodwin is a writer and television producer. In 2005 she started Silver River productions, which she sold to Sony in 2012. Alongside her tv work , Daisy has written a memoir, Silver River and two novels My Last Duchess Uk/The American Heiress US and The Fortune Hunter, which were both New York Times bestsellers. In 2014 Daisy decided to concentrate on writing full time and was commissioned to write her first screenplay, Victoria, an 8 part series about the early life of Queen Victoria for ITV and WGBH Masterpiece Theatre. She is now working on Season 2. Daisy lives in London with her three dogs, two daughters and one husband.