Lynn Cullen Libri

È il 1845 quando Frances Osgood si imbatte per la prima volta in Edgar Allan Poe. Lei è una poetessa – come scriverà in seguito Poe – «esile fino alla fragilità», l’incarnato pallido, i capelli nerissimi e lucen¬ti. Lui – dirà Frances in una lettera del 1850 – «un incrocio inimitabile di soavità e alterigia». Frances vive a casa dei coniugi Bartlett, librai e editori noti nella New York di metà Ottocento. I due l’hanno generosamente accolta dopo che suo marito, Samuel Osgood, un pittore di «una bellezza rude e segaligna» capace di portarsi a letto le signore con lo stesso entusiasmo con cui le dipinge, l’ha abbandonata in una stanza dell’Astor House, uno degli alberghi più lussuosi della metropoli americana, per lanciarsi alla ricerca di nuove conquiste e avventure. L’incontro con Poe avviene a casa di Anne Charlotte Lynch, animatrice del più celebre salotto letterario del tempo, durante un ricevimento in cui non manca nessuna delle personalità di rilievo della New York della metà del XIX secolo: da John James Audubon, il famoso ornitologo e pittore, a Margaret Fuller, la scrittrice amica di Ralph Waldo Emerson, così innamorata dei pellerossa da indossare una pet¬torina di ossa sopra il corpetto; da Walter Whitman, avvolto in una redingote settecentesca, a Stephen Pearl Andrews, il fondatore del Movimento per il Libero Amore. Preceduto dalla fama acquisita con le recensioni apparse sulla rivista Mirror, in cui massacra puntualmente le opere dei colleghi, accanendosi con particolare furia contro il mite Longfellow, Poe fa il suo ingresso nel salotto di casa Lynch con l’aria marziale di un soldato. Vestito in modo impeccabile, la fronte eretta, lo sguardo da cui emana un’intelligenza gelida, il poeta, al culmine del successo dopo aver pubblicato Il corvo, è accompagnato da Virginia, la cugina presa in sposa quando era poco più di una bambina. Giovanissima e snella, di una bellezza esangue e dai tratti – fronte larga, bocca aggraziata, occhi incastonati fra ciglia scure – straordinariamente simili a quelli del marito, Virginia, insieme al debole dello scrittore per la bottiglia, costituisce uno degli argomenti prediletti nei salotti letterari newyorchesi. A casa di Charlotte Lynch, lo sguardo di Poe non tarda a indugiare a lungo su Frances Osgood, dapprima sorpreso e poi divertito dinanzi al palese turbamento della poetessa. Così ha inizio una relazione che, in un breve lasso di tempo, si muta in un amore illecito, fatto di seducenti sotterfugi e incontri pieni di malia e, come in un racconto di Poe, di oscure pulsioni e ingrati destini. Ambientato in una New York dove i cavalli da tiro percuotono le strade trainando barrocci stracolmi di barili, e i suini abbondano nei vicoli e nelle avenues eleganti, Mrs Poe illumina uno dei triangoli d’amore più noti nella storia della letteratura e, insieme, un’epoca di grandi fermenti e trasformazioni.

"Huge applause... women have always been in science—despite those who would pretend otherwise.” --Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry She gave up everything — and changed the world. A riveting novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic, from the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe. In 1940s and ’50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. Outbreaks of the virus across the country regularly put American cities in lockdown. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god. But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a doctor –often the only woman in the room--she hunts down the monster where it lurks: in the blood. This discovery of hers, and an error by a competitor, catapults her closest colleague to a lead in the race. When his chance to win comes on a worldwide scale, she is asked to sink or validate his vaccine—and to decide what is forgivable, and how much should be sacrificed, in pursuit of the cure.

The book offers an enriching reading experience, praised for its engaging narrative and compelling characters. Readers can expect a captivating story that delivers both emotional depth and entertainment, making it a memorable addition to their literary journey. The author’s skill in weaving a splendid tale has garnered acclaim from notable figures, enhancing its appeal.

With her mother dead of the plague, and her beloved brother newly married and moved away, Cornelia van Rijn finds herself without a friend or confidante―save her difficult father. Out of favor with Amsterdam's elite, and considered brash and unreasonable by his patrons, Rembrandt van Rijn, once revered, is now teetering on the brink of madness. Cornelia alone must care for him, though she herself is haunted by secrets and scandal. Her only happiness comes in chance meetings with Carel, the son of a wealthy shipping magnate whose passion for art stirs Cornelia. And then there is Neel, her father's last remaining pupil, whose steadfast devotion to Rembrandt both baffles and touches her. Based on historical fact, and filled with family dramas and a love triangle that would make Jane Austen proud, I Am Rembrandt's Daughter is a powerful account of a young woman's struggle to come of age within the shadow of one of the world's most brilliant and complicated artists.

Ruth juggles the challenges of raising four daughters and managing the family farm alone while her husband lies in a coma. Yearning for the life of her glamorous sister June, who enjoys a successful career and a luxurious lifestyle, Ruth's envy is complicated by June's long-standing resentment over their shared past and her feelings for John. Their unexpected reunion forces both sisters to confront unresolved tensions and deep-seated emotions, setting the stage for a dramatic reckoning.

Biografisk roman. A fictionalized imagining of the personal life of Mark Twain. In March of 1909, Mark Twain cheerfully blessed the wedding of his private secretary, Isabel V. Lyon, and his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft. One month later, he fired both. He proceeded to write a ferocious 429-page rant about the pair. Twain and his daughter, Clara Clemens, then slandered Isabel in the newspapers, erasing her nearly seven years of devoted service to their family. How did Lyon go from being the beloved secretary who ran Twain's life to a woman he was determined to destroy?

Eleanor's struggle to fit in at her new school takes an unexpected turn when she finds out her backyard is haunted by a Civil War ghost. As she navigates the challenges of adolescence and social dynamics, the ghostly presence adds a layer of intrigue and complexity to her journey. This unique blend of coming-of-age themes and historical elements explores Eleanor's quest for acceptance while uncovering the mysteries of the past.