The Women on Platform Two
by Laura Anthony
Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that another pregnancy could prove fatal. Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them.
The Lion Women of Tehran
by Marjan Kamali
In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. On the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Years later, Homa’s sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals amid the political turmoil of Iran.
The Mad Wife
by Meagan Church
Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu's carefully crafted life begins to unravel. When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life.
Harlem Rhapsody
by Victoria Christopher Murray
In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realize her lifelong dream. The first Black woman to be literary editor at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all. W. E. B. Du Bois is not only Jessie’s boss, he’s her lover. Amidst rumors of their tumultuous affair, Jessie is determined to prove herself. When her first novel is released to great acclaim, it’s clear that Jessie has shaped a generation of literary legends, but as she strives to preserve her legacy, she’ll discover the high cost of her unparalleled success.
These Days
by Lucy Caldwell
Living amid the rubble of 1941’s Belfast Blitz are sisters Emma and Audrey. One is engaged to be married; the other is in a secret relationship with another woman. As the bombs fall, and tomorrow feels further and further away, these young women must grapple with the cultural expectations standing firm around them, and try to seize control of their destinies. After all, Emma thinks, if one is to survive, one must survive for something.
All the Summers in Between
by Brooke Lea Foster
When wealthy, impulsive Margot meets hardworking and steady Thea in the summer of 1967, the unlikely pair become fast friends, working alongside one another in a record store. But after an unspeakable incident on one August night, they don’t see one another for ten years. Margot suddenly reappears in Thea’s life, begging for help. Unfulfilled as a housewife, Thea enjoys the dazzling sense of adventure Margot brings to her life, but will the truth of what happened to them that fateful summer ruin everything?
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
by Lisa See
An immersive historical novel inspired by the true story of a woman physician in 15th-century China. From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose. But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound. A triumphant reimagining of the life of one person who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
Every Heart a Doorway
by Seanan McGuire
Children have always disappeared from Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere ... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced ... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter. No matter the cost.
Where the Rivers Merge
by Mary Alice Monroe
1908: The Lowcountry of South Carolina is at the cusp of change. Mayfield is the treasured home of young Eliza. A free spirit, she refuses to be confined by societal norms and spends her days exploring the vast property. But the Great War, coastal storms, and family turmoil bring unexpected challenges to Eliza, putting her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era. 1988: At 88, Eliza has fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son.
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
A 1960s-set novel about Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist forced out of research by rampant sexism. She becomes the reluctant star of a TV cooking show, Supper at Six, using her platform to teach housewives science, resilience, and independent thinking, ultimately empowering them to defy societal constraints.
The Briar Club
by Kate Quinn
A 1950s historical mystery focused on a Washington, D.C. boarding house filled with colorful, secretive female residents. When mysterious widow Grace March arrives, her dinner parties foster unlikely friendships, but her hidden past as a Russian spy leads to a murder that shatters their sanctuary. Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling historical mystery of secrets and loyalty put to the test.
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