Literary Figures

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees
For the millions who cherish Little Women.... McNees deftly mixes fact and fiction as she imagines a summer lost to history, carefully purged from Louisa's letters and journals, a summer that would change the course of Louisa's writing career--and inspire the story of love and heartbreak between Jo and Teddy "Laurie" Laurence, Jo's devoted neighbor and kindred spirit.

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
Alice Liddell Hargreave's life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother and widow, she's experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only "Alice." Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year--the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.
(Sidenote from Amy: Being a huge fan of anything Alice in Wonderland, I recently picked this novel up and absolutely loved it. Even though it is fiction, the author does a wonderful job of blending historical facts with fictional accents.)

Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman
The slow growth of Jane Austen's fame, from niche interest in the mid-nineteenth century to a figure who enjoys the sort of popular affection usually reserved for girl-next-door movie stars, makes a fascinating biography that adds significantly to our image of the beloved novelist.

Churchill by Paul Johnson
For the eminent historian Paul Johnson, Winston Churchill remains an enigma and a challenge. Soldier, parliamentarian, prime minister, orator, painter, writer, husband, and leader-- all of these facets combined to make Churchill one of the most complex and fascinating personalities in history.