History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

A Beautiful Rival: A Novel of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein  Author: Gill Paul Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Release Date: 2023 Pages: 383 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Bestselling author Gill Paul reveals the history of cosmetic titans Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein and their infamous rivalry that spanned decades in a world that was changing dramatically for women—perfect for fans of Fiona Davis, Marie Benedict, and Beatriz Williams.        They could have been allies: two self-made millionaires who invented a global industry, in an era when wife and mother were supposed to be the highest goals for their sex. Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein each founded empires built on grit and determination…and yet they became locked in a feud spanning three continents, two world wars, and the Great Depression.         B...

The Keeper of Hidden Books Author: Madeline Martin Genre: Historical Fiction  Publisher: Hanover Square Press Release Date: 2023 Pages: 407 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A heartwarming story about the power of books to bring us together, inspired by the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw, by the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London .      All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As the bombs rain down and Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia finds that now books are also in need of saving.       With the death count rising and persecution intensifying, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage, hiding them away, and even starting ...

White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America  Author: Shelley Fraser Mickle Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography  Publisher: Imagine Release Date: 2023 Pages: 256 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The fascinating historical biography of America’s most memorable first daughter, Alice Roosevelt, whose free spirit and status made her the Princess Diana and Jackie O of the early 20th century.       During Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency—from 1901 to 1909, when Mark Twain called him the most popular man in America—his daughter Alice Roosevelt mesmerized the world with her antics and beauty.      Alice was known for carrying a gun, a copy of the Constitution, and a green snake in her purse. When her father told her she couldn’t smoke under his roof, she climbed to the top of the White House and smoked on the roof. She became the most famous w...

A Right Worthy Woman Author: Ruth P. Watson Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Atria Books Release Date: 2023 Pages: 303 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the vein of The Personal Librarian and The House of Eve , a “remarkable and stirring novel” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author) based on the inspiring true story of Virginia’s Black Wall Street and the indomitable Maggie Lena Walker, the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman who became the first Black woman to establish and preside over a bank in the United States.       Maggie Lena Walker was ambitious and unafraid. Her childhood in 19th-century Virginia helping her mother with her laundry service opened her eyes to the overwhelming discrepancy between the Black residents and her mother’s affluent white clients. She vowed to not only secure the same kind of home and finery for herself, but she would also help others in her community achi...

The Last Masterpiece: A Novel of World War II Italy Author: Laura Morelli Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Publishing  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 404 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In a race across Nazi-occupied Italy, two women—a German photographer and an American stenographer—hunt for priceless masterpieces looted from the Florentine art collections.       In the summer of 1943, Eva Brunner is taking photographs of Nazi-looted art hidden in the salt mines of the Austrian hinterland. Across the ocean in Connecticut, Josephine Evans is working as a humble typist at the Yale Art Gallery. When both women are called to Italy to contribute to the war effort, neither imagines she will hold the fate of some of the world’s greatest masterpieces torn from the Uffizi Galleries and other Florentine art collections in her hands. But as Italy turns from ally to enemy and Hitler’s plan to destroy irreplace...

From Dust to Stardust  Author: Kathleen Rooney Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Lake Union Publishing Release Date: 2023 Pages: 279 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis:  From the bestselling author of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk comes a novel about Hollywood, the cost of stardom, and selfless second acts, inspired by an extraordinary true story.       Chicago, 1916. Doreen O’Dare is fourteen years old when she hops a Hollywood-bound train with her beloved Irish grandmother. Within a decade, her trademark bob and insouciant charm make her the preeminent movie flapper of the Jazz Age. But her success story masks one of relentless ambition, tragedy, and the secrets of a dangerous marriage.       Her professional life in flux, Doreen trades one dream for another. She pours her wealth and creative energy into a singular achievement: the construction of a one-ton miniature Fairy Cast...

Ladies of the Lake Author: Cathy Gohlke Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Romance Publisher: Tyndale Fiction Release Date: 2023 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: After the deep bond of friendship between two young women is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In Ladies of the Lake , the beloved author of Saving Amelie and Night Bird Calling returns with a transformative new historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging.      When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The “Ladies of the Lake,” as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that is before: Before love and jealousy come between Adelaid...

The Orchid Hour Author: Nancy Bilyeau Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense  Publisher: Lume Books Historical Fiction Release Date: 2023 Pages: 320 Source: Netgalley/ Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Blue , returns with a tantalizing novel about one woman caught up in a secret nightclub that one can only reach through a certain florist on a cobblestone street.       New York City, 1923. Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered.      Having lost her husband to The Great War, she lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library.       But when a quiet poetry-lover is murdered outside the library, the police investigation focuses on Zia.       After a second tragedy strikes even closer to home, Zia learns that both crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village called The ...