book review, historical fiction, history

Review: Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard by Sally Cabot

Benjamin Franklin's Bastard by Sally Cabot begins in 1730s Philadelphia with Deborah Read meeting Benjamin Franklin. Their brief courtship is cut short when Franklin journeys to London for a time. When he returns, he meets a tavern serving girl named Anne. While Deborah and Benjamin are obviously historical figures, Anne is not. Rather, she is… Continue reading Review: Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard by Sally Cabot

book review, history

Review: Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies

Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies is a collection of essays co-edited by Colin Kaepernick and published through his press. This collection was very much compiled in response to the recent push back against CRT courses, as well as the atrocious state of education in Florida where Governor DeSantis and… Continue reading Review: Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies

book review, history

Review: The Wounded World – W.E.B Du Bois & The First World War by Chad L. Williams

The Wounded World: W.E.B. Du Bois and The First World War by Chad L. Williams is a tome of invaluable knowledge concerning America's race relations before, during, and after WWI. Williams' book focuses on the saga of Du Bois' life work in creating The Black Man and the Wounded Wolrd, an account of the experiences… Continue reading Review: The Wounded World – W.E.B Du Bois & The First World War by Chad L. Williams

book review, historical fiction, history

Review: Anangokaa by Cameron Alam

Anangokaa by Cameron Alam follows a 14-year-old Scottish girl, Flora MacCallum, newly arrived with her family in the Canadian wilderness in 1804. The novel opens with Flora emerging from a grave illness (I suspect malaria or smallpox) of which her parents and one of her sisters did not survive. Flora, her older brother Hugh, and… Continue reading Review: Anangokaa by Cameron Alam

book review, historical fiction, history

Review: The War Girls by V.S. Alexander

The War Girls by V. S. Alexander opens at the start of WWII and follows Stefa, a Polish Jew in Warsaw, Janka a Catholic in Warsaw, and Hanna, Stefa's sister who fled her home before the war to live with her aunt in London. There is quite an over saturation of WWII stories, so I… Continue reading Review: The War Girls by V.S. Alexander

book review, historical fiction, history

Review: The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman

The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman is based on the true story of the witch trials of Vardo in northern Norway, in the 17th century. I did not know about these particular witch trials, and the fact that this book took place in Norway drew me in further. Within the Arctic circle, Vardo is… Continue reading Review: The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman

book review, historical fiction, history

Review: Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt

Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt follows three women during Nantucket's Great Fire of 1846: Eliza Macy, the once-wealthy but now financially ruined wife of an absent whaling captain. Maria Mitchell, librarian and archivist at Nantucket's Atheneum. Meg Wright, a free black woman who fights for her family's right to own a business on main… Continue reading Review: Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt