Join us on Wednesday, September 13th at 6:00 p.m. for a reading and discussion with Julie Gerstenblatt, author of Daughters of Nantucket.
Daughters of Nantucket by Julie Gerstenblatt
"A memorable story of friendship and courage." —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris
"Julie Gerstenblatt brings a 19th-century New England coastal town to life in this dramatic, meticulously researched, beautifully paced novel. A moving story of hope, loss, perseverance, and survival.”–Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Train and The Exiles
For fans of Jenna Blum and Christina Baker Kline, a rich and atmospheric historical debut that centers on Nantucket's Great Fire of 1846 in which three very different women are brought together, each forced to re-evaluate her priorities and answer the harrowing question: “What—and whom—would you save?”
“Gerstenblatt's distinctive tale, a triumph in storytelling, celebrates the courage and tenacity of women.” —Booklist, starred review
Set against Nantucket’s Great Fire of 1846, this sweeping, emotional novel brings together three courageous women battling to save everything they hold dear…
Nantucket in 1846 is an island set apart not just by its geography but by its unique circumstances. With their menfolk away at sea, often for years at a time, women here know a rare independence—and the challenges that go with it.
Eliza Macy is struggling to conceal her financial trouble as she waits for her whaling captain husband to return from a voyage. In desperation, she turns against her progressive ideals and targets Meg Wright, a pregnant free Black woman trying to relocate her store to Main Street. Meanwhile, astronomer Maria Mitchell loves running Nantucket’s Atheneum and spending her nights observing the stars, yet she fears revealing the secret wishes of her heart.
On a sweltering July night, a massive fire breaks out in town, quickly kindled by the densely packed wooden buildings. With everything they possess now threatened, these three very different women are forced to reevaluate their priorities and decide what to save, what to let go and what kind of life to rebuild from the ashes of the past.
Julie Gerstenblatt holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her essays have appeared in The Huffington Post and Cognoscenti, among others. When not writing, Julie is a college essay coach, as well as a producer and on-air host for "A Mighty Blaze." A native New Yorker, Julie now lives in coastal Rhode Island with her family and one very smart shichon poo. Daughters of Nantucket is her first novel.
