Introduction Iris Dupont is a young reporter who communes with the ghost of Edward R. Murrow. Jonah Kaplan is a failed microbiologist–turned–biology teacher who is haunted by the ghosts of his past. In The Year of the Gadfly, each embarks on a private investigation to uncover a secret society in their remote New England town. [...]
Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall
Introduction Amid the mayhem of the Civil War, Virginia plantation wife Iris Dunleavy is put on trial and convicted of madness. It is the only reasonable explanation the court can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent away to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good, compliant woman. Iris knows, though, that [...]
The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R. by Carole DeSanti
To read an interview with the author, see a schedule of events, and explore other features, visit www.caroledesanti.net. “Epic times make for epic books. The Unruly Passions of Eugénie R. is both sweeping in scope and painstaking in detail. Eugénie R.’s story, from naïve goose girl to resilient survivor, makes for wonderful, suspenseful reading.”—Karen Joy [...]
Accidents of Providence by Stacia Brown
About the Book Accidents of Providence, by Stacia M. Brown, depicts the life of an ordinary woman living in early modern London during the Interregnum, the kind of person often overlooked by the history books and films centered in the period. Even in her own time, Rachel Lockyer is hardly noticed by others: she is [...]
Beyond Religion by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
In his latest book, His Holiness the Dalai Lama proposes a system of secular ethics to fit the demands of the modern world. With respect for religious and global diversity and careful observance of the benefits of religious faith, he calls for us to move beyond religion in order to cultivate a universal system of [...]
The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai
Introduction Anita Desai ruminates on art and memory, illusion and disillusion, and the sharp divide between life’s expectations and its realities in three perfectly etched novellas. Set in India in the not-too-distant past, the stories’ dramas illuminate the ways in which Indian culture can nourish or suffocate. All are served up with Desai’s characteristic perspicuity, [...]
The Diviner’s Tale by Bradford Morrow
About the Book Hired by a developer to dowse a lonely forested valley in upstate New York, Cassandra Brooks happens upon a girl hanged from a tree. When she returns with the authorities, the body has vanished, leaving in question Cassandra’s sanity. The next day, a dazed, mute girl emerges from the woods, alive and [...]
The Tigress of Forli by Elizabeth Lev
About the Book The astonishing life of a long-misunderstood Renaissance virago Wife, mother, leader, warrior. Caterina Riario Sforza was one of the most prominent women in Renaissance Italy—and one of the most vilified. In this glittering biography, Elizabeth Lev reexamines her extraordinary life and accomplishments. Raised in the court of Milan and wed at age [...]
The Maid by Kimberly Cutter
Introduction The girl who led an army, the peasant who crowned a king, the maid who became a legend It is the fifteenth century, and the tumultuous Hundred Years’ War rages on. France is under siege, English soldiers tear through the countryside destroying all who cross their path, and Charles VII, the uncrowned king, [...]
Damascus Gate by Robert Stone
A Note from the Author The idea of writing a book set in Jerusalem came to me when I first saw the city in 1985 after doing a travel article set in Egypt. I returned, and in 1992 visited Gaza and the West Bank and witnessed some of the disorders attendant on the intifada, the struggle [...]
