Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

Thanks to a friend I received an Advance Reader Copy of Nancy Horan's new book, Under the Wide and Starry Sky. Nancy Horan is the author of Loving Frank, a fictionalized story about architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Because Loving Frank is on my list of all-time favorite books, I was delighted to have a sneak-peek at Horan's new book due out January 7, 2014.

Horan's new novel begins in 1875 and focuses on Fanny van de Grift Osbourne, an independent American woman who flees her life with a philandering husband in San Francisco and moves with her children to Belgium. After a personal tragedy, she moves to an artist colony in France where she can retreat and refocus her life. While in France, Fanny meets a young Scot who instantly falls in love with her. The Scotsman, Robert Louis Stevenson, is an unhealthy attorney, plagued with lung ailments, who yearns to devote his life to writing. Stevenson's love for Fanny is not a popular decision with his family and friends; however, he is determined to forge ahead. After Stevenson achieves fame, Fanny must strike a balance between her independence, desire to also be a writer, and support for Stevenson.

I enjoy reading Historical Fiction and learning about a well-known person in a new way. Stevenson is best known for his novels Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; however, despite his writing success, health and personal issues plagued him during his lifetime and readers will come to appreciate the partnership Fanny and Stevenson shared that enabled his life as an author. From France to Scotland, California, England, Switzerland and Samoa, each place offered challenges and triumphs.  The book is on order, so put your hold in now for this great new novel. ~Enjoy~