Devotion re-creates the life of Varina Anne (Winnie) Davis, the youngest child of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. Winnie was not quite a year old when the family fled the Rebel stronghold of Richmond as the Civil War was ending. Twenty-one years later, Winnie was catapulted into a celebrity she did not seek. As the officially proclaimed Daughter of the Confederacy, she was presented with great fanfare at large conventions of Confederate veterans fr...

The USA Today BestsellerFrom the bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room comes a mesmerizing tale of historical fiction that asks what kind of woman could have inspired an American dynasty.Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But ...

Sooner or later, history asks, which side were you on?In his powerful new novel, Charles Frazier returns to the time and place of Cold Mountain, vividly bringing to life the chaos and devastation of the Civil WarHer marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects the secure life of a Mississippi landowner. Davis instead pursues a career in politi...

**One of the country’s most powerful families embroiled in sex, lies, bigamy, and blackmail . . . and every new, deliciously humiliating morsel splashed across every newspaper in AmericaNow in paperback, the believe-it-or-not historical true crime behind one of the greatest scandals of the Gilded Age, and the story that gave rise to the sensational tabloid journalism still driving so much of the news cycle in the 21st century.**An Alexander Hamilton heir, a beau...

A fascinating exploration of slavery and its laws and an unforgettable portrait of a young woman in pursuit of freedom. "Reads like a legal thriller" ( The Washington Post).It is a spring morning in New Orleans, 1843. In the Spanish Quarter, on a street lined with flophouses and gambling dens, Madame Carl recognizes a face from her past. It is the face of a German girl, Sally Miller, who disappeared twenty-five years earlier. But the young woman is propert...

As a girl growing up in Kentucky, she lived a sheltered, privileged life filled with picnics and plantation balls. Vivacious, impulsive, and intoxicated by politics, she is a Todd of Lexington, an aristocratic family whose ancestors defeated the British. But no one knows her secret fears and anxieties. Although she is courted by the most eligible suitors in the land, including future senator Stephen Douglas, it is a gangly lawyer from Illinois who captures her heart. After a stormy courtsh...

Before her heart became the latest one discarded in wild abandon by the even wilder Darius Maynard, housekeeper Chloe Benson fled her beloved village. Returning home years later, she finds the notorious rogue's flashing green eyes and mocking comments still infuriate…and excite her!Suddenly upgraded from spare to heir, Darius is enduring an onslaught of personal torment. However, he's been the black sheep of the Maynard family for as long as the gossipmongers can remember. And ther...

“[Wilder's] finest and most beautiful novel. . . . Spanning two continents and several generations, it begins as a murder mystery and goes on to tell a story, at once dramatic and philosophical, about the range of human courage, aspirations, steadfastness, weakness, defeat and victory.” — New York PostThis beautiful edition of Thornton Wilder’s renowned National Book Award–winning novel features a foreword by John Updike and an afterword by Tappan ...

Louisa May Alcott never intended to write Little Women. She had dismissed her publisher’s pleas for such a novel. Written out of necessity to support her family, the book had an astounding success that changed her life, a life which turned out very differently from that of her beloved heroine Jo March.In Louisa May Alcott, Susan Cheever, the acclaimed author of American Bloomsbury, returns to Concord, Mas...

New York Times Bestseller: "A relentless, terrifying thriller" from the award-winning author of The Ross Forgery (Dean Koontz).In Brooklyn, in a historic part of that shambled borough, the flailing iron ball of the wrecker's crane is at work. One of the few buildings still standing amid the rubble is the Brevoort House, older than memory. Its only remaining tenant is Peter Richardson. Abandoned. Menaced. Alone. The Brevoort has b...

LIBRARY JOURNAL'S AWARD-WINNING SELF-e MYSTERY OF 2015!An unseemly lesson…in murder.The year is 1896, and college professor Concordia Wells has her hands full: teaching classes, acting as live-in chaperone to a cottage of lively female students, and directing the student play, Macbeth.But mystery and murder are not confined to the stage, especially when the death of Concordia's sister, Mary, appears to be foul play...

Acclaimed historical novelist Dorothy Love brings to life an extraordinary true story of friendship, courage, and loyalty in Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray. Inspired by real historical figures and set against the sweeping backdrop of the American Civil War, this richly detailed novel explores a remarkable bond that crosses lines of race, class, and culture--illuminating the complex human relationships behind one of the most turbulent eras in American history.Mary ...