Women in History – Three Novels Celebrating Life in Hard Times

by Rebecca Rosenberg

Why am I so interested in Women’s History? Because I remember so well how truly devastated I was to discover that the history books and even historical history books were filled with men and how thrilled I was to discover Gone With the Wind. Finally, there was a story that brought women, strong women, into the picture!

Also, I was excited to find out that Women’s History Month started right where I live, in Santa Rosa, California, in the heart of wine country! I will tell that story in future blogs, but if you want to know more, go to: https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/ where I am a women’s history speaker.

Bookish Road Trip FB group hosted an extraordinary Women’s History Event on March 3, 4, and 5^th, featuring live videos of best-selling and award-winning authors telling stories of women who made a difference in our history. That inspired us to start this blog and share those videos with you on our website.

I will share three women’s stories here and invite you to watch the exciting videos of our guest authors.

SISTERS OF CASTLE LEOD
by Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard

A family tragedy, a forgotten legend, and two sisters locked in a bitter feud are elements of this atmospheric novel set in the Scottish Highlands at the turn of the twentieth century. Countess Sibell Mackenzie is devastated by the death of her baby daughter and blames her younger sister for the tragedy. But when she meets an exotic stranger who insists that he and Sibell once were lovers in the ancient Phoenician port of Tyre, she hopes there might be a way to reverse fate and restore all she has lost. Award-winning author Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard brings to life the strange and mysterious world of Edwardian-era spiritualism in this deeply psychological drama inspired by the real Mackenzie sisters.

THE GIRLS IN NAVY BLUE
by Alix Rickloff

1918 – America is at war with Germany, and, for the first time in history, the US Navy has allowed women to join up alongside the men. Ten thousand of them rush to do their part. German-American Marjory Kunwald enlists in the Navy to prove her patriotism. Suffragette Blanche Lawrence to prove that women are the equal of men. And shy preacher’s daughter Viv Weston in a desperate attempt to hide from the police.

Even as the US military pours into France and the war heats up, the three yeomanettes find friendship and sisterhood within the Navy. But all their plans for the future are thrown into chaos when Viv’s dark past finally catches up with her.

1968 – Newly divorced and reeling from a personal tragedy, Peggy Whitby unexpectedly inherits her estranged great-aunt Blanche’s beach cottage outside Norfolk Virginia. But her fragile peace is rattled when she begins to receive mysterious postcards dated from 1918 when Blanche served as a Navy yeomanette.

Curious to learn more about her mysterious aunt and uncover the truth behind the cryptic messages, Peggy is drawn deeper into the lives of the three young Navy girls. But her digging uncovers more than she bargains for, and, as past and present collide, Peggy must decide if finding out about her aunt is worth the risk of losing herself.

THE FOURTEENTH OF SEPTEMBER
by Rita Dragonette

An enthralling historical novel set during the peak of the Vietnam War and told through the rare perspective of a young woman, who traces her path to self-discovery and a “Coming of Conscience.”

On September 14, 1969, Private First Class Judy Talton celebrates her nineteenth birthday by secretly joining the campus anti-Vietnam War movement. In doing so, she jeopardizes both the army scholarship that will secure her future and her relationship with her military family. But Judy’s doubts have escalated with the travesties of the war. Who is she if she stays in the army? What is she if she leaves?

When the first date pulled in the Draft Lottery turns up as her birthday, she realizes that if she were a man, she’d have been Number One―off to Vietnam with an under-fire life expectancy of six seconds. The stakes become clear, propelling her toward a life-altering choice as fateful as that of any draftee.