The Talented Wench


Book Description




Wench


Book Description

Dolen Perkins-Valdez’s enchanting and unforgettable novel, based on little-known fact, combines the narrative allure of Cane River by Lalita Tademy and the moral complexities of Edward P. Jones’s The Known World as it tells the story of four black enslaved women in the years preceding the Civil War. wench \'wench\ n. from Middle English “wenchel,”1 a: a girl, maid, young woman; a female child. Situated in Ohio, a free territory before the Civil War, Tawawa House is an idyllic retreat for Southern white men who vacation there every summer with their enslaved black mistresses. It’s their open secret. Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet are regulars at the resort, building strong friendships over the years. But when Mawu, as fearless as she is assured, comes along and starts talking of running away, things change. To run is to leave everything behind, and for some it also means escaping from the emotional and psychological bonds that bind them to their masters. When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, the women of Tawawa House soon learn that triumph and dehumanization are inseparable and that love exists even in the most inhuman, brutal of circumstances—all while they bear witness to the end of an era. An engaging, page-turning, and wholly original novel, Wench explores, with an unflinching eye, the moral complexities of slavery. “Readers entranced by The Help will be equally riveted by Wench. A deeply moving, beautifully written novel told from the heart.”—USA Today




Wench


Book Description

A funny, fiercely feminist YA epic fantasy—following the adventures of a tavern wench Tanya has worked at her tavern since she was able to see over the bar. She broke up her first fight at 11. By the time she was a teenager she knew everything about the place, and she could run it with her eyes closed. She’d never let anyone—whether it be a drunkard or a captain of the queen’s guard—take advantage of her. But when her guardian dies, she might lose it all: the bar, her home, her purpose in life. So she heads out on a quest to petition the queen to keep the tavern in her name—dodging unscrupulous guards, a band of thieves, and a powerful, enchanted feather that seems drawn to her. Fast-paced, magical, and unapologetically feminist, Wench is epic fantasy like you’ve never seen it before.




White Shadow


Book Description

The highly anticipated sequel to International Booker and Dublin Impac Award-shortlisted The Unseen No-one can be alone on an island . . . But Ingrid is alone on Barrøy, the island that bears her name, and the war of her childhood has been replaced by a new, more terrible present: the Nazi occupation of Norway. When the bodies from a bombed vessel carrying Russian prisoners of war begin to wash up on the shore, Ingrid can’t know that one will not only be alive, but could be the answer to a lifetime of loneliness—nor can she imagine what suffering she will endure in hiding her lover from the German authorities, or the journey she will face, after being wrenched from her island as consequence for protecting him, to return home. Or especially that, surrounded by the horrors of battle, among refugees fleeing famine and scorched earth, she will receive a gift, the value of which is beyond measure. The highly anticipated follow-up to Roy Jacobsen’s International Booker and Dublin Impac Award-shortlisted The Unseen, a New York Times New and Noteworthy book, White Shadow is a vividly observed exploration of conflict, love, and human endurance.




The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer


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"Leveraging her love and knowledge of fine beer, Ashley Routson's book highlights how and why craft beer is such a popular (and growing) industry"--




Mary Read


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Written in 1934, Shay based his work of the life of famed pirate Mary Read on the available histories. In this delightful novel she is depicted as a fetching pirate wench who roams the Romantic Carribees, despoiling shipping and taking lovers. Read lived disguised as a boy by her mother, from an early age, as an adult she proved herself in the military, and aboard ships. When a West Indies bound ship that she was on was taken by pirates, she was forced her to join them. In 1720 she joined pirate John "Calico Jack" Rackham and his companion, the female pirate Anne Bonny. The rest as they say, is history.




Threads


Book Description

Well researched and chuck full of early eighteenth century colonial people, places and events cleverly woven amid fictional characters-'Threads - An American Tapestry (ISBN 9781438974156) is a third novel for author Gloria Waldron Hukle. The story chronologically follows 'Manhattan: Seeds of the Big Apple', the l7th century saga set in New Amsterdam that becomes New York City. ( visit www.authorgloriawaldronhukle.com ) In the opening scene Margaret Vandenberg, wealthy, strong-minded, intelligent (sole daughter of a Dutch immigrant and Native American) watches the departure of the census taker's carriage, fearful that the provincial official has made a few dangerous discoveries while visiting her vast 'northern plantation'. Margaret's main concern--one that she has trouble believing herself-- is that one of her beloved Negro slaves is helping runaways. Later an attack is the catalyst for a horrific discovery from which Margaret and her people struggle to recover. Margaret, despite her wealth and position, is no stranger to prejudice. Well into her thirties, as she prepares to marry for the first time she faces many issues. She vows that she will leave all of this in God's hands--but can she? ***************************************** Greenbush Life News (edited) Published January l7, 2009 Gloria Waldron Hukle...Bringing New York History to Life Julie Rigg wirtes "Hukle brings real historical figures together with fictional characters to tell the stories of the first settlers of Manhattan and the Hudson River Valley Region. The stories revolve around early settlers including the Dutch and reaching beyond delving into the lives of African Americans, American Indians and Colonial European settlers." Historians and genealogists may be interested in this partial list of surnames, New York Colonials who are a part of "Threads An American Tapestry"... Waldron, Bradt, Collins, Vandenberg, Karski, Schuyler, Stuyvesant, Schermerhoorn, Leisler, Vermilye, Jensen, Hitchcock, Meyndert, Wendell, LaCroix, Vandeusen, Vrooman, Lansing, Yates, Penn, Altemouse, Brant, Ryckman, Partridge, Verelst, Kidd.




Two Sisters


Book Description

In 18th century England, life is tough for the Auldfield farming family but they are proud, hard-working people. Nance's sorrow at her sister's death is eased a little by falling in love but this only begins a sequence of devastating events that seem to lead to one place - the gallows! Unknown to her, she is guided by her sister’s loving spirit, finding new life and love herself in the afterlife and trying desperately to avert the consequences of Nance’s recklessness. The author’s debut novel, based on a Suffolk legend, is a brilliant, historically accurate description of Georgian times including genuine dialect. But, far more than this, it is a truly exciting adventure story that also inspires us with beautiful, erudite writing to consider the possibility of an afterlife where our spiritual efforts on Earth are rewarded.




The Nightwing's Quest


Book Description

In the underground world of Alvarra, the supreme ruler is the Nightwing, whose daughters will inherit her throne. Men in this dark-elven society are admired and pampered, but since the overthrow of the Siadhin Lords long ago by the women they bred to oppress, males may not hold positions of power. And peace has reigned for centuries. But the current Nightwing has a son whose poisoned ambition is to kill his sisters one by one and reinstitute the rule of the Siadhin Lords. When the eldest sister is assassinated, the second daughter, Tiala, does not wait to be next. She escapes Alvarra to seek champions from the Upworld lands, where she faces prejudice, superstition, and the Scourge of Elves--the sunlight. Will a cadre of champions comprised of a tormented wizard, a fledgling shape-shifter, a novice monk and a couple of old enemies be enough to secure the peace in Alvarra? At what cost?




Take My Hand


Book Description

Winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction “Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze…an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption.”—Celeste Ng Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend intends to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she hopes to help women shape their destinies, to make their own choices for their lives and bodies. But when her first week on the job takes her along a dusty country road to a worn-down one-room cabin, Civil is shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India, are children—just eleven and thirteen years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica, and their family into her heart. Until one day she arrives at their door to learn the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them. Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace, and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten. Because history repeats what we don’t remember. Inspired by true events and brimming with hope, Take My Hand is a stirring exploration of accountability and redemption. “Highlights the horrific discrepancies in our healthcare system and illustrates their heartbreaking consequences.”—Essence