Catch the Biography and Memoir Fervor in These New Releases
Librarians are seeing a resurgence right now in the publication of biographies and memoirs of famous figures and/or their wives. Election years typically prompt a flurry of books about past leaders and candidates. At times of strife and political upheaval, maybe it’s natural to look to the words of the Founding Fathers and their beliefs – or their antics. In the end, a good many of us just love learning about what makes other people tick.
Our librarians offer up some titles here that are getting a lot of buzz. Some are on the shelves now, others will arrive later. You can always place a hold on a title at thelibrary.org/catalog.
- “White Houses” by Amy Bloom explores the rumored romantic relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena Hickok, as told from Hickok's point of view.
- “Varina” by Charles Frazier tells the life story of Varina Howell, who as a teenager married Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Frazier wrote the historical novel “Cold Mountain.”
- “Carnegie's Maid” by Marie Benedict is a look at the life of Andrew Carnegie told from the perspective of his mother's lady's maid. Benedict also wrote “The Other Einstein,” about the wife of Albert Einstein.
- “The Girls in the Picture” by Melanie Benjamin examines the friendship between actress Mary Pickford and screenwriter Frances Marion during the early days of Hollywood. Benjamin wrote “The Aviator's Wife” about the wife of Charles Lindbergh.
- “Love and Ruin” by Paula McLain is about writer and journalist Martha Gellhorn and her relationship with Ernest Hemingway. She was Hemingway's third wife.
- “My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton” by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie is about the wife of Alexander Hamilton.
- “Caroline: Little House, Revisited” by Sarah Miller retells the “Little House” story from the mother's perspective.
- “He” by John Connolly tells the story of the comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the early 20th century. Told from a male perspective, it may bring male readers to a genre that has often been dominated by female readership.
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