Best Historical Fiction

  Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) at the beginning of the 20th century is the best painter in San Francisco. Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) in 1918 is a new comer to the Bohemian San Francisco, hoping to make a path for herself as a portrait photographer. Today, she is most recognized for influencing journalistic photography. 1918. Dorrie, nearly twenty-three, arrives in San Francisco with a camera and a head full of ideas. As she tries to figure her way around the city, she meets Caroline Lee. Caroline introduces Dorrie to Monkey Block. A district full of life and bohemians. Dorrie’s first job in the city is a step-down from what she was doing in New York. But it is a step-up when she sees an opportunity she didn’t see in New York. In New York, she “couldn’t make it any further than somebody’s assistant.” In San Francisco might be different. There are successful women photographers here. Flourishing, because there were no established photographers in the city due to the earthquake of 1906 that

  In 1920s, the Stroll, section of State St in Chicago, is the place for Black Chicagoans to socialize, filled with jazz clubs, brimming with life and blazing with lights. Jazz-age Chicago comes alive in this story. Chicago, 2015. Sawyer “is a graduate student chasing a doctorate in media studies.” His documentary thesis focuses on the legendary Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. His research takes him to Chicago and to an over one-hundred year old woman named Honoree Dalcour. His research brings unexpected twist. 1925. Honoree auditions as a dancer at the Dreamland Café. The most famous place on the Stroll. She is climbing the ladder to success. But that comes with some unexpected events. One evening something happens. Something she shouldn’t have witnessed. The Stroll is a place filled with the best entertainment: the best piano player, the best trumpet player, and the best band in all Chicago including the best chorus girls. But it is also a time of Prohibition when bootlegging whiskey

  Maria (pronounced Marya) Sklodowska before she became Marie Curie and before she left Poland for France, she was in love with Kazimierz Zorawski. And this story explores what-if… she stayed in Poland with her first love by inventing a fictional character of Marya Zorawski. In parallel stories, we also get to know the real story of Marie as a scientist working with her husband Pierre Curie. Poland, 1891. Maria from early age knew that being mother wasn’t meant for her. Her “mind ached to learn.” And in Russian Poland women were not allowed to study. She is heart-broken when things don’t work out with the love of her life. But her father reminds her about her brilliant mind and that she needs to use it. The word – Sorbonne – is “like a confection for my mind, and my body hummed, alive again…” Then the story splits into imagined and real… At Sorbonne Marie excels. She is first in her class in physics examination. She is awarded the prestigious Alexandrovitch Scholarship. But she needs a

 This story brings “life love affair of two great artists - the famous Russian author, Ivan Turgenev, and the celebrated French opera singer, Pauline Viardot.” Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1843. Ivan Turgenev, Russian aristocrat, is mesmerized with the opera sensation Pauline Viardot. When they meet in person, their reciprocated love turns into a life love affair. Through following decades, he pursues her across the countries. France. Louis Viardot is a “respected art historian, a translator and a scholar.” He is much older than Pauline and hoped that his unfailing kindness would make Pauline love him with time. With Pauline’s success and growing number of younger admirers, he takes a different approach. He accepts Ivan in order to make Pauline happy which also feeds her success. Pauline Garcia Viardot is the sister of the immortal soprano and daughter of the great Spanish tenor and composer. There was a time when she felt being in the shadow of her sister, but no more. Now, she enjoys he

 The Monastery of the Holy Cross was once the most prestigious royal monastery in Gaul (Western Europe) of the early Middle Ages, “populated largely by Frankish women of royal and noble birth…” The monastery started declining after a rebellion of nuns against the rising misogyny and patriarchy of the medieval church. This story is based on the true story of Clotild, the rebel nun. Poitiers, 588 AD. Sister Clotild of the Holy Cross Monastery is a witness to drastically changing approach toward women, who “were declared unclean, and (..) were prohibited from touching the sacramental objects. Priests could no longer sleep with their wives…” Clotild is illegitimate daughter of King Charibert and with her curious mind as a child she was allowed to study alongside her half-brothers. She learned the purpose of different herbs from her mother. She was expected to be the next abbess, but that’s not what happens. Under the new abbess controlled by a bishop, whatever joy the sisters were allowed