As they do in many of Alcott’s stories, bright girls and resourceful women play prominent roles.
The Lost Letter
Readers are guided beautifully and creatively through this classic fairy-tale. Subtle details and description are always dropped at just the right moment, and never detract from the story’s forward movement.
The Women in Black
The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John is a charming story set in 1950s Sydney, Australia, where women at the F.G. Goode department store wear simple black frocks to sell ladies cocktail dresses for Christmas and the New Year.
The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion
There is so much to love about this story. Themes include family life during WWII, Polish immigrant culture, contemporary Southern small-town life, 1940s Hollywood, stunt piloting—and the marvelous theme of women flying, literally, to new heights.
The Work of Art
The Work of Art just shot onto my all-time favorite stories list, and I’m picking up more of Mimi Matthews as quickly as I can.
The Dutch House
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is a fascinating study of the influence of home.
Becoming Mrs. Lewis
In Becoming Mrs. Lewis, author Patti Callahan, brings us the story of the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.”
When We Meet Again
When Emily Emerson is laid off from her reporting job, she thinks she has lost everything—until she receives a beautiful, haunting painting of a young woman, recognizable as her grandmother, standing at the edge of a sugarcane field under a violet sky.
Grey Mask
In Grey Mask, every scene, even every paragraph, builds solidly on the previous one, creating a satisfying web of mystery. The authentic characters are complex yet consistent.