Historical Women

The work of a spy-woman is very different from that of a man. First, on the one hand it is easier, because you are less likely to be suspected of intelligence activities. On the other hand, it was harder for female spies, because they were required to gain the trust of high-ranking officials or people of power, by using their beauty, skills of seduction, and by attempting to make the person fall in love with them, so that they revealed their secrets. It could destroy destinies, but it was extremely useful for states and governments.

Jersey, 1940. In the quiet of the English Channel, war is brewing. When the Nazis first set foot on her island home, 16-year-old Marcy comes to realize that nothing will ever be the same. Fueled by the devastating disappearance of the man she loves and in defiance of her distant mother, Violet, she joins forces with fellow islander Louisa to aid Jersey’s secret resistance.

The life of the vibrant Schwartz Family changes completely overnight. The sudden illness of Noa, the family's youngest daughter, forces them to attain a great sum of money for an urgent operation, and they are at a loss. Daria, the oldest sister, is the only one who believes that the not so distant past of the intricate Hungarian family holds an old secret that could lead the way to save her little sister's life. Armed with great determination, Daria goes on a cross-continent journey to investigate the Schwartz dynasty's origins.

Europe, 1939. Hanne is an adolescent boy, born into a wealthy family from Belgrade. Realizing the Nazi threat is advancing toward the Balkans with giant strides, his parents are prepared to do anything to save their son’s life. The road to survival, however, is not easy. Just as Europe’s gates are about to shut down, Hanne and 1,100 other youths sail away on the Danube River. On board the ship, under appalling living conditions, Hanne falls in love with Inge, a young German Jewish girl.

After Cordelia Channing endures the lethal winter alone in the Rocky Mountains, she is discovered by Thomas Nash, a solitary mountain man who wants only to hunt and be left alone to grieve the woman he could not save. Delia aches to go east, but over the days and miles, she finds her battered spirit yearning for this self-reliant trapper, who stirs her longing and wakes her heart.

A historical novel about the relationship between Sigmund Freud and the five most important women in his life.

An evocative blend of immersion journalism and memoir, How to Make a Life shares the immigration story of a Tibetan refugee family who crossed real and cultural bridges to make a life in Madison, Wisconsin, with the assistance of the Midwestern woman they befriended. From tales of escaping Tibet over the Himalayas to striking a balance between old traditions with new to bridging divides one friendly gesture at a time, listeners will expand their understanding of family, culture, and belonging.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 made slavery illegal in the territory that would later become Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. However, many Black individuals’ rights were denied by white enslavers who continued to hold them captive in the territory well into the 19th century. Set in this period of American history, Enslaved, Indentured, Free shines a light on five extraordinary Black women—Marianne, Mariah, Patsey, Rachel, and Courtney—whose lives intersected in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.