A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

Mrs. Parks might run a brothel in Monterey, California in 1851, but what she says about women is as true today as it was then. “Everyone knows this is a dangerous business, but, between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business.” Eliza Ripple has...

Rizzio by Denise Mina

Denise Mina’s novella, Rizzio, tells the dramatic story of the murder of David Rizzio, Mary, Queen of Scots’ private secretary. On, March 9, 1566, a team of assassins, including Lord Darnley, Mary’s husband, dragged Rizzio from a small supper of...

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

“History doesn’t record the intricacies of women’s relationships with one another; they’re not to be uncovered.” Sarah Penner’s debut, a historical novel, The Lost Apothecary, reveals traces of the secrets women share. It also...

The Girl in White Gloves by Kerri Maher

I can honestly say Kerri Maher’s novel of Grace Kelly, The Girl in White Gloves, is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read. It’s not that it’s tragic. It’s a tragedy that a woman who appeared to have everything never felt as if she was...