New Historical Fiction Picks!

Harriet and Isabella by Patricia O'Brien and A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

Reviewed by Cathy S., Librarian

Most of us know that Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an eye-opening novel exposing the horrors of slavery. But I wonder if many of us know that she was one of a large and largely close-knit family? Harriet and Isabella by Patricia O’Brien is the story of the relationship between two sisters of the famous Beecher family. Harriet Beecher Stowe, author, and her younger sister, Isabella Beecher Hooker, determined suffragist, grew up very close to each other as well as to their brother, famous preacher, Henry Ward Beecher.

In 1887, Henry Ward Beecher is on his deathbed. His family is gathering around him, but there is a deep rift within the family that prevents Isabella from joining them. Some years before, Henry was at the center of a sensational scandal involving his relationship with the wife of one of his parishioners. A long, painful trial only served to rend the family apart and weaken Henry’s solid reputation. Harriet remained steadfastly loyal to Henry, while Isabella exhorted him publicly to admit to his guilt.

The question rises from O’Brien’s novelization of the relationships within the Beecher family, including also their other brothers and sisters and Henry’s wife and children, of whether justice was served during the trial and its aftermath. While Henry lies dying, will the strength of family ties withstand the struggle to overcome differences?

In A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd, Bess Crawford is serving in the British nursing corps during World War I. She has been raised by her Army officer father to be keenly aware of her responsibility, honor and duty. In 1916, she is traveling on the hospital ship, Britannic, when it is sunk by a mine. Escaping safely, but with a badly broken arm, she returns to her home in Kent to recuperate.

Bess has just lost one of her fondest patients, mortally wounded Lt. Arthur Graham, who as he dies, makes a request of her to deliver a message to his brother, Jonathan. Bess’ sense of duty compels her to follow through, and so is launched into a family mystery that is only resolved after even more people die.

I hope Todd writes further adventures for Bess Crawford, just as he has written eleven Ian Rutledge mysteries. She is a strong, independent woman of the early 20th-century, who has to rely on her wits and innate courage to make sense of the underlying intrigue she steps unwittingly into as she seeks to do her duty for a friend.

Learn more about Harriet and Isabelle by visiting the book's website. More about A Duty to the Dead can be found on author Charles Todd's website. To reserve a copy of these books, visit the Chester County Library System Catalog online.