History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

     I’m thrilled to share the cover of Stephanie Dray’s super anticipated new novel,  Becoming Madam Secretary! It goes on sale March 2024. Becoming Madam Secretary traces the life of one of America’s unsung heroes: Frances Perkins. Frances Perkins was the first female Cabinet secretary, who helped pulled the nation out of the Great Depression. Becoming Madam Secretary sounds really exciting, and I can't wait to read it Here is the synopsis for Becoming Madam Secretary :        After moving to New York and throwing herself into the social scene, Frances Perkins met such people as millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, then-budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson (with whom she falls deeply in love). Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance and over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House. Preorder a...

Madame Pommery by Rebecca Rosenberg Publication Date: March 21, 2023 Lion Heart Publishing Genre: Historical Fiction      Champagne, France, 1860 . Madame Pommery, an etiquette teacher and orphanage founder, loses her husband and is forced to support her family. With no experience, the forty-year-old widow decides to make champagne. Her unique vision is to change it from a sweet dessert beverage to a dry, crisp wine to be enjoyed anytime. When champagne makers refuse to teach her their craft, she forges ahead on her own and secretly begins the excavation of champagne caves under the Reims city dump.      Soon after, her son and her entire crew are conscripted to fight the Franco-Prussian war, leaving Madame Pommery alone to struggle with her champagne dreams. After Napoleon and a hundred thousand French troops are captured, the Prussians invaded France, and Prussian General Frederick Franz occupies Madame Pommery’s house as his army headquarters. Un...

The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau Publication Date: August 10, 2023 Lume Books Genre: Historical Thriller      There is a certain hour, in the dead of night, when the orchid’s scent can put you under a spell…      " Nancy Bilyeau has created a beautifully layered and utterly seductive tale… and, at its living, tender heart, a strong-willed and magnetic heroine. " – Emilya Naymark, author of Behind the Lie , finalist for the 2023 Sue Grafton Award      Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Crown and 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 son and in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library. But when a quiet poetry lover is murdered outside the library, the polic...

Rhapsody by Mitchell James Kaplan Publication Date: March 2, 2021 Gallery Books: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook; 352 pages Genre: Biographical/Literary/Historical Synopsis: One evening in 1924, Katharine “Kay” Swift—the restless but loyal society wife of wealthy banker James Warburg and a serious pianist who longs for recognition—attends a concert. The piece: Rhapsody in Blue. The composer: a brilliant, elusive young musical genius named George Gershwin.      Kay is transfixed, helpless to resist the magnetic pull of George’s talent, charm, and swagger. Their ten-year love affair, complicated by her conflicted loyalty to her husband and the twists and turns of her own musical career, ends only with George’s death from a brain tumor at the age of thirty-eight.      Set in Jazz Age New York City, this stunning work of fiction, for fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank, explores the timeless bond between two brilliant, strong-willed artists. George Gershw...

The Hollow Queen  by Sherry D. Ficklin  (Stolen Empire, #5)  Published by: Clean Teen Publishing Publication date: September 23rd 2019 Genres: Historical, Young Adult Synopsis: As a princess of the Romanov Empire, Elizabeth has enjoyed a life of luxury and privilege. But the sudden deaths of her parents leaves her unprotected – awash in the dangerous tide of her family’s political rivals. When the supreme council crowns her half-nephew Peter II in her place, Elizabeth is left with no title, no power—and no allies. Now little more than a bastard in the eyes of the world, she is sent to serve in the palatial home of Prince Menshikov—the real power behind the boy king.      But Elizabeth won’t fade quietly into the background.       Determined to uncover the truth behind her mother’s murder and expose the men who mean to rule Russia in secret, she grows closer to the handsome young king, and swears to protect him and his rule...

    Today Jennieke Cohen, Epic Reads, and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and a note from Jennieke about the cover for DANGEROUS ALLIANCE , her debut YA Historical Book which releases on December 3, 2019! Check out the awesome cover and enter the giveaway!     On to the reveal! DANGEROUS ALLIANCE Author:  Jennieke Cohen Pub. Date:  December 3, 2019 Publisher:  HarperTeen Formats:  Hardcover, eBook Pages:  ? Find it:   Goodreads ,  Amazon     Lady Victoria Aston has always been just as comfortable in a pair of breeches stolen from her father as she has in satin ballgowns decked in lace. And though she is perfectly capable of minding her manners in polite society, she doesn't much see the point. With an older sister happily wed and the future of her family estate secure, she is quite content to while her time away in the fields around her home.      However, V...

A Modest Independence by Mimi Matthews Publication Date: April 23, 2019 Perfectly Proper Press eBook; 400 Pages Series: Parish Orphans of Devon (Book #2) Genre: Historical Romance Synopsis: He Needed Peace…     Attorney Tom Finchley has spent his life using his devious intellect to solve the problems of others. As for his own problems, they’re nothing that a bit of calculated vengeance can’t remedy. But that’s all over now. He’s finally ready to put the past behind him and settle down to a quiet, uncomplicated life. If only he could find an equally uncomplicated woman. She Wanted Adventure…     Former lady’s companion Jenny Holloway has just been given a modest independence. Now, all she wants is a bit of adventure. A chance to see the world and experience life far outside the restrictive limits of Victorian England. If she can discover the fate of the missing Earl of Castleton while she’s at it, so much the better. ...

Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr by Margaret Porter Publication Date: October 16, 2018 Gallica Press Paperback & eBook Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction Synopsis:  “But I don’t regret anything. I learned a lot.” —Hedy Lamarr      An ambitious teenaged Austrian actress of Jewish heritage, Hedwig Kiesler is tainted by her nudity in the art film Ecstasy. A hasty marriage to a munitions mogul is her refuge from scandal, but it cannot survive his jealousy and possessiveness—or her discovery he supplies arms to Hitler’s regime. Hedy flees husband and homeland for Hollywood, where Louis B. Mayer transforms her into an icon of exotic glamour. Professional success clashes with her personal life as marriage and motherhood compete with the demands of studio and stardom.      Roused to action by the atrocities of World War II, Hedy secretly invents a new wireless technology intended for her adopted country’s defense—and unexpectedly...

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau Publication: Fall 2018 Endeavour Quill Genre: Historical Fiction      What would you do to possess the most coveted color in the world? The year is 1758, and a headstrong woman artist, 24-year-old Genevieve Planche, is caught up in a high-stakes race to discover the ultimate color, one that threatens to become as deadly as it is lucrative. When Genevieve’s mission is complicated by her falling in love with the chemist behind the formula, she discovers the world of blue is filled with ruthless men and women and how high the stakes really are. The story sweeps readers from the worlds of the silk-weaving refugees of London’s Spitalfields and the luxury-obsessed drawing rooms of Grosvenor Square to the porcelain factory of Derby and, finally, magnificent Sevres Porcelain in the shadow of Versailles. And running through it all: the dangerous allure of the color blue.      “Bilyeau’s sumptuous tale of mystery and intri...

Cursed by Christina Bauer (Beholder, #1) Published by: Ink Monster LLC Publication date: March 29th 2016 Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult Synopsis: Although Elea’s the most powerful necromancer in history, she’s spent most of her nineteen years imprisoned in the Midnight Cloisters. Enchanted manacles keep her unique brand of soul magick in check. While the guards and initiates seem contented to torment her, the Cloister’s Mother Superior is obsessed with finding a safe way to destroy Elea, both body and soul.     Escape seems impossible until a handsome hunter named Asher offers to help. Elea takes a chance and soon develops feelings for the mysterious stranger. However, Asher may not be who he claims. Then again, Elea may not be, either… Pre-orders are now live at Amazon , Barnes & Noble , iBooks , and Kobo . AUTHOR BIO: Christina graduated from Syracuse University's Newhouse School with BA's in English as well as Television, Radio, and Film ...

Join author Ruth A. Casie on her Cover Reveal for The Druid Knight Tales: A Short Story , from February 23-March 13, and enter to win an eBook of the first book in The Druid Knight Series , Knight of Runes.   Publication Date: February 23, 2015 Publisher: Timeless Scribes Publishing, LLC  eBook; 57 pages  ISBN: 0986246425  Series: The Druid Knight Series   Genre: Historical, Fantasy/Romance  Synopsis: She would give her last breath for him. He would give up everything to guard her well and love her more. Maximilian, the druid Grand Master, was given a year to find his soul mate. On the final day, the sacred mistletoe has shriveled and died—proclaiming his failure. He must do what no other Grand Master has done before and journey to meet with the Ancestors formally relinquish his title. Ellyn of Brodgar has the gift of healing. But each use of her magick, through a kiss, depletes her energy and brings her closer to death. Time is running out as she...