Three Sisters by Heather Morris, Historical Fiction, 2022

From the same author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, this story is based on interviews with three sisters and family members. It is a haunting but hopeful story as you follow what these sisters went through at Auschwitz and afterward. The story begins the night before their father dies when he makes his girls promise they will always take care of each other.  But when the Nazis came to take Livia, Cibi voluntarily followed to keep her promise and protect Cibi.  They didn’t realize they were headed to a work camp in Poland and eventually Auschwitz. Later, in an unexpected twist, Magda, joins them.  The sweeping story allows us to witness perseverance that allows each girl to save the core of their selves.  Unlike some survival stories, we stay with these girls as they try to live after Auschwitz, cope with their demons, find love, and eventually immigrate to Israel.  Check the author’s website for some family interviews.   https://heathermorrisauthor.com/three-sisters/note-from-the-family/

 

​How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior, Fiction, 2020

I needed lighthearted fiction after reading The Three Sisters and their Auschwitz experience.  This book was perfect.  Eccentric Veronica is 85 and alone and destined to stay that way. Then, a documentary about the penguins in Antarctica intrigues her and prompts a plan.  She will visit the research station for 3 weeks, observe their work, and decide whether to leave her money to the worthy goal of protecting and saving penguins. When the scientists receive her letter about her investigative visit, they do everything to dissuade her without success.  And thus, in the cold and isolation with the help of a rescued orphaned penguin, her cold, lonely heart begins to melt. Not only does she discover friendship, but also discovers family. It’s a great read for sweltering summer days!​​

 

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin, Historical Fiction, 2016

Alexandrina Victoria was not even eighteen when she became Queen of England in 1837. Daisy Goodwin, scriptwriter for the popular Victoria PBS series, delivers a rich and satisfying picture of life for the young queen including her relationship with her prime minister, the pressure to marry, and the attempts to control her. Using Victoria's detailed diary, Daisy shares the highs and lows of Victoria’s early years until she meets Albert and must decide whether to propose marriage. A rich and satisfying read!

 

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki, Historical Fiction, 2024

Like you, in college, I studied the Transcendentalist writers of Concord, Massachusetts: Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Alcott. However, I had never heard of Margaret Fuller, one of the first female journalists, recruited by Horace Greely for his newspaper and serving as one of the first international correspondents. This was a story long overdue for the telling. As is usual for groundbreakers, she didn’t have a straight shot into publishing, mostly because she was a woman. She was admired and somewhat courted by the literary greats of the day. How she found her voice, the love of her life, and how it ended is inspiring and heartbreaking. If you like behind-the-scenes literary stories, you will like this read. Interesting note: she is Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne in Scarlet Letter and Meg in Little Women is named after her.​

 

The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, Historical Fiction, 2023

This is the lesser-known story about the friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary Bethune.  Eleanor, looking for her place in a role she never sought and Mary, fighting equality in a world stalled by racism; find a friendship and a fight that links them both in life and history. Chapters alternate between Eleanor’s perspective and Mary’s, often seeing the same event from two perspectives. What develops is a story of how two women, each with limited power, formed an alliance that began a shift in the fight against white supremacy and black oppression. Told from meticulous research especially using Eleanor’s diaries, the story shares a friendship and a fight that made a difference.

 

​Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson, Nonfiction, 2023

I read this book to prepare for our 2024 trip to Egypt and am glad I did. This is the story of the life and work of Egyptologist Christiane Desroches-Noblescourt. She fought for the place of women in archaeology, joined those who saved priceless art from the Louvre from Nazis and took on the fight to save the magnificent Egyptian temples, especially Abu Simbel, from flooding with the opening of the Asan Dam.  Her meticulous research changed how history views the pyramids and those buried in them. She was driven, intelligent, unstoppable, and intriguing. It is a remarkable story.

 

​Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray, Historical Fiction, 2024

Stephanie Dray is one of my favorite historical fiction writers.  This book tells the mostly unknown story of Frances Perkins, the longest-serving Secretary of Labor. She served through all three terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency and was responsible for implementing much of Roosevelt’s New Deal and crafting and negotiating for Social Security.  Though finding the love of her life in Paul Wilson, she also faced her hardest challenges when he was diagnosed with a manic-depressive mental illness that required institutionalization, much like the story of “A Beautiful Mind.” It seemed doubly unfair when her only daughter fought a similar issue.  Inspiring at its best, heart-tugging, and completely unforgettable; read this story and you will think twice about how social security changed our lives.

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Prize Women by Caroline Lea, Historical Fiction, 2023

Based on the true story of what happened when Charles Vance Millar, a rich lawyer and financier from Toronto, died in 1926 and left part of his wealth to the women who gave birth to the most children within ten years after his death.  What unfolded was dubbed “The Stork Derby.”  Lea creates a fictional story of two women caught in marriages that produced children, but not always by choice. Lilly is in an abusive relationship and escapes after an earthquake. Pregnant and running away with son Mateo, they find their way to Toronto where Lilly finds employment with Mae, a woman with wealth and too many children.  Thus begins an unfolding story of friendship, rivalry, and unexpected turns. Intensely and magnificently told, this far-fetched money race became a journey of survival where friendship is the enduring answer.

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The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull, Historical Fiction, 2024

In 1961 Uli Newmann proposed to Lise Bauer expecting to marry and live the life of their dreams.  Then, the Berlin Wall changed their lives overnight. Both woke up the next morning on opposite sides of the wall. The rest of the book tells the story of the 28 years that separated them, including the tunnel Uli and his friends dug hoping to bring the now-pregnant Lisa into West Germany. It is a story of life torn apart and the miracle of unexpected reunion.

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The Nile: Traveling Downriver through Egypt's Past and Present by Toby Wilkinson, Nonfiction, 2020

I read this book to prepare for my trip to Egypt in 18 days!  This book follows the Nile through Egypt to share a history of the land and people. Beginning with Aswan to Luxor, Thebes, Qena, middle Egypt, and ending with Cairo.  Egyptologist Wilkinson shared how the land has always depended on the Nile for its economy, caused horrific famines when it did not flood, and how the controversial Aswan dam stabilized the land.  There were interesting stories about people, politics, pyramids, and how the past is her foundation but not necessarily a prediction of her future.

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The Last Watchman of Old Cairo by Michael David Lukas, 2018, Historical Fiction

Several travelers to Egypt recommended this book. Three threads to this story propel the reader through an imagined tale of loss and hopeful finds.  Joseph is a Berkeley student with a Jewish mother and a Muslim Egyptian father. Joseph goes to Cairo to discover the meaning of the contents of a box he received after his Egyptian father died in Cairo. Ali is an orphaned Muslim boy who is recruited as a night watchman for the historic Ibn Ezra Synagogue at a time when it was in danger of being burned down.  Also, twin Egyptologist sisters travel to Cairo hoping to retrieve original documents, especially “the Ezra scroll.”  Told with twists and turns, intrigue and longing, this story blends history and fiction in a satisfying way.  Now, I can’t wait to see Old Cairo!

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