1700s

SILENCE by Julia Park Tracey

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I’m shouting it out about this novel, which I’m currently reading and which is publishing later in September. Have it on your radar if you like realistic historical fiction from the colonial era.

Here’s the scoop:

“I am no witch, nor adulteress, thief, nor murderer. They say I have lost my reason, but I know only that my heart is shattered, and in crying it aloud, now I must pay the cost….” 

After three grievous losses, Puritan woman Silence Marsh dares to question God aloud in the church, and that blasphemy lands her in trouble—she is silenced for a year by the powers that be. Broken in heart and spirit, Silence learns to mime and sign, but it isn’t until a new Boston doctor, the dashing Daniel Greenleaf, comes to her backward Cape Cod village that she begins to hope again. Rather than treating Silence with bleeding or leeches, Dr. Greenleaf prescribes fresh air, St. John’s Wort, long walks—and reading. 

Silence has half a hope of getting through her year of punishment when the cry of witchcraft poisons the village. Colonial Massachusetts is still reeling from the Salem Witch Trials just 20 years before. Now, after demanding her silence, she is called to witness at a witchcraft trial—or be accused herself. 

A whiff of sulfur and witchcraft shadows this literary Puritan tale of loss and redemption, based on the author’s own ancestor, her seventh great-grandmother.

Me again! If you know me, you know I live in Massachusetts and am greatly interested in the Puritan years and the witch trials. This is a well-crafted story with a fascinating main character, based on the author’s ancestor.

About the Author

Author Julia Park Tracey’s ancestors and their stories have given her a trail to follow from New York and New England to the deep south and the Pacific Coast. The Bereaved: A Novel, the story of her great great grandmother’s loss of her children to the Orphan Train was named in the top 100 indie books published in 2023 by Kirkus Reviews. Christian Kiefer, author of the newly released The Heart of it All, said: “In The Bereaved, Julia Park Tracey reopens America’s wounds in prose that is propulsive and resonant. Theodore Dreiser comes to mind, but so, too, the fine contemporary novels of Jo Baker and Maggie O’Farrell.”

Thank you to my friends at Sibylline Press for my copy! I will need to find Julia Park Tracey’s earlier novel to read, too!

Book Chat with Author Eva Stachniak of THE SCHOOL OF MIRRORS

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I’m super excited to share with readers the opportunity for a zoom book chat with author Eva Stachniak regarding her novel: The School of Mirrors.

Here’s the overview from Amazon:

“A riveting epic, keenly observed and shining with lush historical detail. You’ll never forget this journey.”–Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris

“A sweeping tale of tumult and tragedy— intricate, absorbing, and impeccably depicted, The School of Mirrors will linger in your imagination long after you turn the last page.”–Ann Mah, bestselling author of Jacqueline in Paris

A scintillating, gorgeously written historical novel about a mother and a daughter in eighteenth-century France, beginning with decadence and palace intrigue at Versailles and ending in an explosive new era of revolution.

During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors. There they meet a mysterious but splendidly dressed man who they’re told is merely a Polish count, a cousin of the Queen. Living an indulgent life of silk gowns, delicious meals, and soft beds, the students at this “school of mirrors” rarely ask questions, and when Louis tires of them, they are married off to minor aristocrats or allowed to retire to one of the more luxurious nunneries. 

Beautiful and canny Veronique arrives at the school of mirrors and quickly becomes a favorite of the King. But when she discovers her lover’s true identity, she is whisked away, sent to give birth to a daughter in secret, and then to marry a wealthy Breton merchant. There is no return to the School of Mirrors.

This is also the story of the King’s daughter by Veronique—Marie-Louise. Well-provided for in a comfortable home, Marie-Louise has never known her mother, let alone her father. Capable and intelligent, she discovers a passion for healing and science, and becomes an accredited midwife, one of the few reputable careers for women like her. But eventually Veronique comes back into her daughter’s life, bringing with her the secret of Marie-Louise’s birth. But the new King—Louis XVI—is teetering on his throne and it’s a volatile time in France…and those with royal relatives must mind their step very carefully.

I’m reading it now and I love love love historical fiction!

Here’s the scoop on the book chat:

WHEN: Saturday, April 6, 2024

WHERE: My Zoom

TIME: 3:00-4:30 EST

HOW DO I REGISTER?: please email me at bethsbooknookblog@yahoo.com and I will email the zoom link the week of the event. Or if you follow me on Facebook (Beth’s Book Nook Blog) I will post the link there as well.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

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I just finished reading this amazing new book by Ariel Lawhon and it is destined to be one of my top picks of 2024. When I first started this novel, I thought “this feels SO familiar” and I was reminded of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s book about a midwife’s diary from the 1700’s in Maine (A Midwife’s Tale, which won the Pulitzer in 1991). This is the same Martha Ballard, but Ms. Lawhon has taken the facts of the diary and written a story around them, making it a true gem of historical fiction.

Here’s the scoop:

GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

“Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive.”—The Washington Post

“Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine.” —People Magazine

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

I loved this book, though at times it was disturbing as it highlighted the harshness of life in the 1700’s and in a patriarchal society (note: there is description of sexual assault and rape). While I had originally received this book through Net Galley to review, my copy disappeared off my kindle at some point and I had only read a third of it, so I purchased mine from Amazon so I could finish it!