“The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post: A Novel” by Allison Pataki

Born in 1887, Marjorie Merriweather Post lived at a time when women were not expected to be involved in business or make an impact in the world, yet as the daughter of cereal magnate, C.W. Post, Marjorie was endowed with amazing wealth and a drive to contribute to society by taking on influential roles as socialite, ambassadress, entrepreneur, visionary, philanthropist, businesswoman, interior decorator, art collector, and hostess, not only to presidents but a vast array of people with wealth and power. The book gives a fascinating fictionalized portrait of Marjorie, whose dynamic personality, dedication to detail, strong values, single-mindedness, and unbending drive helped her become a woman who achieved great things at a time when women were not encouraged to do so, but whose attributes and wealth unfortunately did nothing to bring good fortune or lasting love in her personal life. 4 Stars

“House of Lincoln” by Nancy Horan

While the characters in this work of historical fiction include Abe and Mary Lincoln, it is less about their house, and more about the citizens, racial inequalities, changes, and events in Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Illinois, because in addition to chapters about the Lincoln family, it tells a parallel story of the Donnegan’s, a free, African-American family with ties to the Underground Railroad, and yet, focuses mainly on a young, Portuguese immigrant girl named Ana, who starts working in the Lincoln household and becomes well-read about the politics of the day. With its many quotes by politicians, abolitionists, and newspapers (both pro and anti-slavery) the book is excellently researched and documented, and centers on events from 1851 to 1909 (before, during, and after the Civil War), usually describing life and events from Ana’s perspective, but intermittently focusing on the life of the Lincoln family during the election, at the White House, and after the assassination, as well as events in the Donnegan family during the same time period, and although the story was historically compelling, there were times that the fictional aspects were scattered and the writing fell a little flat in comparison. 4 Stars

“The Personal Librarian” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

This well-written fictional account is based on a remarkable woman, Belle de Costa Greene, an African-American woman in the early 1900s who passed as a white woman in order to support her family and was hired to enlarge and catalogue the extraordinary art and rare books of Mr. J.P. Morgan.  The novel drags a bit in places but is nonetheless interesting as it details Belle’s relationships with both her family and J.P Morgan, and describes how she used her vast knowledge and shrewd negotiation to become one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, helping to create a world-class reference library, and becoming a fixture in New York City society, all while her racial identity was a secret that could destroy everything.   4 Stars  

“Cooking for Picasso: A Novel” by Camille Aubray

In a novel that fictionalizes a mysterious interlude Picasso had in the French Riviera in 1936, two stories emerge, one of which involves a 17-year-old girl, Ondine who finds herself cooking and eventually seduced by Picasso, and the second, Ondine’s modern-day granddaughter, Celine dealing with a dysfunctional family, and traveling to France to solve the mystery of a Picasso portrait ostensibly given to her grandmother. I enjoyed parts of this book, especially the descriptions of French cuisine, the glorious countryside, and the mystery that Celine puzzles out, however, the characters of Celine’s brother and sister were as shallow as cardboard cutouts, and parts of the plot were contrived and predictable, but what bothered me the most was the focus on Picasso’s sexual proclivities and predatory sexual grooming of Ondine, which were portrayed as part of his charisma, without a hint of censure. 3 Stars – a fairly good read.

“The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel” by Pamela Binnings Ewen

I was left wanting more from this book, perhaps because it moved slowly, or perhaps because it focused mostly on Chanel’s life in German occupied France during WWII, but probably because Coco Chanel was portrayed as an unlikeable, selfish, egocentric, person whose character and choices were hard to approve of, even when she recalled the past tragedies that should have made me feel more sympathetic.  The book begins as Coco is betrayed by her business partner who is among the many people fleeing France in advance of the advancing German forces, and it flashes back and forth from recollections of her past, to the choices she made during the war, and her fight to regain control over her most prized possession –the perfume that bears her name, Chanel #5.   3 Stars

“Band of Sisters” by Lauren Willig

Based on detailed research and first hand accounts, the actual events of heroism, courage, and work of the women in the Smith College Relief Unit (SCRU) (1917-1920), is retold using fictional characters, and if even half of what these college alumni accomplished to help the people of France during WWI was true, they were a remarkable group indeed. In a story that moved a bit too slowly at times, Emmy, who comes from a rich, prestigeous family, convinces Kate, a woman from a working class family who had been her college roomate, to accompany a group of 18 Smith College alumni to France during WWI to help devastated citizens to rebuild lives, replant gardens, and re-establish homes even as the war continues, and as they serve, their physical and emotional strength is pushed to the limit, their friendships are tested, loyalties are forged, and their lives are forever changed. 4 Stars

“Code Name Helene” by Ariel Lawhon

Based on the true story of perhaps the greatest female hero of WWII, this thrilling novel sweeps the reader into the love, life, and amazing courage of one truly extraordinary woman, Nancy Wake, an Australian journalist whose deep, loving marriage to a Frenchman was interrupted by the outbreak of WWII and whose desire to be involved in defeating the Nazis led her to go to unimaginable lengths.  Nancy Wake, known to the Nazi’s as “The White Mouse”, was ferociously hunted as she worked under several aliases as a smuggler, a spy, a fighter, and a military  commander, and as the novel bounces arbitrarily to and from the various time periods and aliases of her life, the dates at the beginning of each chapter help the reader piece together how Nancy went from sometime journalist and happily married socialite, to a hardened military leader saving thousands of lives by putting on her “armor” (her signature red lipstick), and setting out to arm and train fighters, carry out crucial, perilous missions, gain the respect of even the most hardened soldiers, and be awarded the highest military medals of honor. 5 Stars

“My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton” by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

“My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton” by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

I was fascinated and intrigued by this look at the inception and establishment of the United States, and in particular, the accomplishments, contributions, marriage, and mistakes of Alexander Hamilton as told through the eyes of his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.  Although the detailed theories of government and pages of complicated political in-fighting bogged me down in several places, overall, I was absorbed not only by the picture that was painted of Hamilton, a revolutionary thinker whose ideology and strong personality made him a profoundly influential and highly controversial founding father, but also of the whole process by which the United States was formed and managed to remain as states united into the country we take for granted today. 4 Stars

“The Only Woman in the Room:A Novel” by Marie Benedict

There were parts of this book that were so fascinating I literally devoured them but I wanted to know more than the author’s focus revealed about the life of Hedy Lamarr, gorgeous starlet, celebrity, actress, inventor, and immigrant, since the author chose to focus her fictionalized biography mostly on Hedy’s early life, glossing over many details of her later life and concentrating on the unjust ways that Lamarr was prized chiefly because of her glamour and beauty, while her inventions (which are still influencing modern cell-phone technology today) were discounted as the thoughts of a female, and her acclaim came only posthumously. The book concentrates on Hedy’s escape from a controlling husband in Austria as it is taken over by Nazis and her work in Hollywood on a film set by day and in her lab by night, and highlights a woman who wanted to be known for her intelligence and inventions instead of her beauty, but the book ends abruptly, never delving into the nitty-gritty of Hedy’s biological son, “adopted” as a Jewish immigrant, her difficulty maintaining lasting relationships in her five marriages, the details of her life after WWII, her ghost-written autobiography which she later claimed was mostly fiction, the Hollywood system that got her addicted to drugs, her arrests for shoplifting in later years, and her self-imposed seclusion from other people except through phone conversations until her death in 2000 at the age of 85. 3 Stars

“The Girls in the Picture” by Melanie Benjamin

I didn’t enjoy the pacing of this book as much as the last two books by Melanie Benjamin (“The Aviator’s Wife” and “The Swans of Fifth Avenue”), since it bogs down somewhere in the middle of the tale, but it is nonetheless an interesting look at the silent film industry, the very beginnings of Hollywood, and in particular the friendship between the most famous of all silent stars, Mary Pickford and one of the first successful female screenwriters.  It depicts the rise and fall of stardom, the price of fame, the complexities of being Mary Pickford, the love of her life, Douglas Fairbanks, their decision to join Charlie Chaplin in founding United Artists, the difficulties of being a career woman in a male dominated era and industry, the possible character flaws and human needs which motivated each of their choices, and the complicated ups and downs of the friendship of two women driven by their love of being in the business of making movies. 3 1/2 Stars