Books of the week June 28

“Queen Charlotte” 
By Julia Quinn

In this new story in the world of Bridgerton, the marriage and life of Queen Charlotte is explored. Her story begins with her traveling to London to marry King George III. Their marriage was arranged by his mother and her brother. They have never met, and they won’t until they’re at the altar. However, they run into each other as Charlotte is trying to run away from the wedding and George is trying to run away from his madness in the royal gardens. This accidental meeting starts off a loving but tragic marriage for the two. 

This historical fiction novel is a novelization of the Netflix series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Anyone who loves Bridgerton or historical fiction about the English monarchy will love this book. You can find this book at the library and on the Libby app. 

“Woman 99” 
By Greer Macallister

Charlotte and Phoebe Smith are sisters from a decent family in the late 1800s San Francisco society. Their parents are busy trying to marry them off to respectable suitors, but Phoebe has occasional “episodes” of sadness that hinder the search.  Because these episodes are widely misunderstood in their time, Phoebe’s parents decide to have her committed to Goldengrove Asylum for insane women. Charlotte finds the separation from her sister unbearable and decides to have herself committed so that she can find Phoebe and break her out. Little did she know how harsh the treatment was at Goldengrove, and that quite a few women there were not insane, just inconvenient to society. Charlotte knows her time to carry out her plan is limited, but time seems to be irrelevant in a place like this. What she needs is friends and allies to ever be free again.