#stephanie dray

[nordleuchten]

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful beginning the the year😊 I just have a simple question to ask you.

Have you ever had a chance to read the book ‘Lafayette: courtier to crown fugitive, 1757-1777’?

I was looking for some novels about the Lafayettes and this came up and I’m currently reading it. I kind of like how it portrays Gilbert and Adrienne’s relationship, it feels realistic.

If you have how did you feel about it?

Dear Anon,

thank you very much, I indeed had a great start into the new year and I hope you had as well!

I know the book and I have a copy at home but I have yet to read it. So far I only skimmed through the first few chapters and was pleasantly surprised by what I have seen – especially since the cover design of my edition (La Fayette as a half-naked Barbie Ken-Doll) had me seriously doubting the quality of the book at first.

Another historical novel that I have read and that I can recommend is The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray.

I am sorry that I can not give you a more satisfying answer but if you ever have a question regarding a specific passage/scene, feel free to send it to me and ask.

I hope you have/had a lovely day!

[perfectionistwannabe]

Book Review: Becoming Madam Secretary

For those who love historical fiction and American politics, I have a new book suggestion for you that releases on March 12, 2024, called Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray. Publisher: Berkley Publishing Synopsis She took on titans, battled generals, and changed the world as we know it…New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel…

[wttnblog]

9 March 2023 Book Releases That Should be On Your Radar

In a year of many false Springs, it’s hard to believe that it’s only March. Yesterday I was bundled up to brave below freezing temperatures and the day before I sat outside to read my book in a balmy 70 degrees. Nonetheless, it is only the third month of 2024. There’s quite a few incredible books coming out this month that you should most definitely be aware of. *Bookshop affiliate links allow…

[diaryoftruequotes]

Glory is a bittersweet wreath of both flowers and thorns.

Stephanie Dray, The Women of Chateau Lafayette

[berenike-euergetis]

A friend of mine shared this post with me that she came across on Twitter, and there's something I'd like to break down about it :

As a North African Amazigh, I find it concerning when there are attempts to inaccurately portray our heritage. The Amazigh people have varied skin tones, influenced by regional climates. Generally, the further north you go, the lighter the skin color tends to be among the population. Juba, being a descendant of the Massylii tribe which was located in the northeast of Algeria, would likely have had a Mediterranean skin tone. It would be historically inaccurate to categorize him as black.

I'm tired of seeing him portrayed as black in literature (like in Stephanie Dray's trilogy 🤡) If you're going to write about a certain culture, it's essential to thoroughly research and understand that culture instead of perpetuating stereotypes or misrepresentations.

[theoburrsvirginitybalcony]

what eliza book are u reading rn and may we have the link?

It's My Dear Hamilton By Stephanie Dray and Laura!!!

[litcest]

Hello! Do you have any bipoc incest books? I only know of "the god of small things" and i would honestly prefer the characters to be black or brown because i can barely think of any book that has incest between them

I actually can't recall any incest books with black main characters, neither from the ones I read nor from the ones I saw in passing. A quick google search brought back results of novels featuring non-consensual incest among black characters, which is not what we want.

For indigenous and brown characters:

Aztec by Gary Jennings, which I haven't read but I know that the main character had a past sexual relationship with his sister (both siblings are Mexica/Nahua);

The Blue Bedspread by Raj Kamal Jha, which I have read and although the incest is very important to the story, I wouldn't say it's an incestous romance novel. Like in The Good of Small Things, the characters are Indians (not sure which ethnic or racial group, but I'm almost certain they are not Anglo-Indians);

Lavoura Arcaica by Raduab Nassar follows a family of Lebanese-Brazilians (not sure if skin color is mentioned, but I assume that they are still considered BIPOC by having Lebanese ancestry;

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray is about Cleaopatra's daughter. Not sure if the book portraits her a Greek or as Egyptian, light skinned or dark skinned, but I'll mention it anyways.

This is what I have for you at the moment. I'll try to find more books that fit the request. Probably some books I haven't read but have compiled in my catalogue have black characters and I just don't know it.

I hope my indigenous and brown rec list doesn't offend anybody. I googled and apparently the Lebaneses don't like to be considered brown, but Lebanese-Americans mostly said they consider themselves to be BIPOC. I actually know a family of Lebanese-Brazilians, and I wouldn't call them "brown", since their skin is the same shade as mine, but TBH, in the US I probably wouldn't be considered "white", even though in Brazil I am.

[lostinfic]

Nine people you'd like to know better

I was tagged by @wordsintimeandspace, thanks friend!

Three ships

Currently: Cesare/Lucrezia. Still dear to me: Hardy/Hannah and Doctor/Rose.

First ship

Possibly Luke/Lorelai from Gilmore Girls, soon to be followed by Rory/Jess. Also possibly Rachel/Joey from Friends.

Last song

outsiders by Jean-Michel Blais, a very dream-like piano piece

Currently reading

Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray and many things about Central American politics and culture.

Last film

Last Night in Soho, it was not the kind of movie I expected but I enjoyed it nonetheless

Currently Craving

Anything that will make me feel like The Borgias do? I need more fanfics like I need oxygen.

Let's see [looks through latests notes on posts]... I'm tagging @useyourtelescope, @kelkat9, @fleurdeneuf, @scattyuk @zoebelle9 @littletimorousbeastie @saturninesunshine if you want to 💚

[yvisoul]

A list of Eliza Hamilton in fictional books.

I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott

Alex & Eliza (A Love Story, Love & War, All for One) by Melissa de la Cruz.

Hamilton's Choice by Jack Casey

The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs

My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie

A Master Passion by Juliet Waldron

Hamilton's Heart & Hamilton's Hope by Mercy Madison

Elizabeth Schuyler: A Story of Old New York by Mary Elizabeth Springer

Sharing Hamilton by Brian L. Porter, Diana Rubino

Hamilton's Battalion: A Trio Of Romances by Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole

The Lace Widow: An Eliza Hamilton Mystery by Mollie Ann Cox

President Hamilton by Lewis Ben Smith

(will be updated if i find more) + (and if you know another book, let me know!)

[gracehosborn]

🍄Decriscribe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

and

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

Hi!! Thank you for the ask!! The original ask game can be found here.

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

This seems quite fun and vague. I feel like Ink of Destruction might best be suited for this.

“Vengeful Alternative Universes + Found Family = IOD”

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

Shifting gears to my other major project: when I had started The American Icarus, I had agonized over the opening to this ambitious project and ended up rewriting it about eight times before coming to its current opening chapter.

One of the ideas I had was that the book would open in present tense from Hamilton’s first-person point of view and depict the beginnings of his duel with Aaron Burr, but abruptly stop right before Hamilton would pull his trigger. The rest of the story would be placed after this moment, and follow in chronological order the events leading up to the moment just shown told in past tense from Hamilton’s first-person point of view, then towards the end (having been shown all the context) the final pages of the story would wrap up the duel and its aftermath, and therefore the end. I think I had gotten this idea from Laura Kaye and Stephanie Dray’s My Dear Hamilton, which utilized this framework in telling Eliza’s story from her perspective and using a family legend of Eliza in her old age talking to James Monroe to do so. However, I realized that this idea, while interesting, didn’t feel right as this wasn’t the right approach for the story and items of interest I wanted to explore. I am also not the biggest fan of My Dear Hamilton, but that’s another post for another day.

Instead I decided to scrap this idea entirely, in favor of framing the story as Hamilton sitting down to write his posthumous memoirs, opening with him directly talking to the reader in explaining his reasonings as to why this is being done. Then having the story continue in chronological order from there.

That got longer than I expected. Hope these are enjoyable—and that you’ve had a good start to the new year!

[ouiouixmonami]

Thanks for the tag @my-deer-friend and @chaotic-history! :)

Last book I read: Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor by Willard Sterne Randall (more on that here...!)

Book I recommend: The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray

Book I couldn't put down: America Afire by Bernard Weisberger

Book I've read twice: Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - both times were assigned readings with about a decade in between, and I appreciated it much more the second time around

A book on my TBR: The Highland Scots of North Carolina, 1732 - 1776 by Duane Meyer

A book I've put down: Arcadia by Ian Pears, although I'd like to give it another go

A book on my wishlist: Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution - Selected Letters and Papers (all volumes!)

A favourite book from childhood: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn - a book about raccoons to help children deal with separation anxiety, my beloved 🥹

A book you would give to a friend: This question is impossible for me to answer because it really depends on what they like

A book of poetry/lyrics you own: None, surprisingly

A non-fiction book you own: So many...!

Currently reading: Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan

Planning on reading next: The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff

Tagging: @frenchiefraise, @dearxtallxboy, @samar-arijjj, and anyone else who would like to participate!

[royal-hair]

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg visiting the exhibition "Sub umbra alarum. Luxembourg, Fortress of the Habsburgs 1716-1741" at Drai Eechelen Museum in Luxembourg - 07.03.24

[rootsandwingsboutique]

I have been SPEEDING through America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. The #historicalfiction #novel takes us back to the days when Patsy Jefferson, daughter of Thomas Jefferson, was growing up. She saw more of the world than her children ever did, even living in #paris for several years. She lived through wars and tough times but endured through it all and showed those that may have disliked her and her father that she was not going to give up. I highly recommend this novel.

.

Please Support my small business today at https://www.rootsandwingsboutiquehandmade.com

AND

https://rootsandwingsboutiquehandmade.com

[diaryoftruequotes]

Grief is like thick morning fog. You breathe it, swim in it, drown in it—or at least you want to drown, but for some damned reason, you keep living, breathing, walking. One foot in front of the other even though you can’t see the path ahead. You tiptoe, and so does everybody else.

Stephanie Dray, The Women of Chateau Lafayette

[binch-i-might-be]

I, Eliza Hamilton by Stephanie Dray. Martha Washington: An American Life by Patricia Brady. Martha by Susan Holloway Scott. And George and Martha Washington: A Revolutionary Marriage by Flora Frasier. I'm not sure if any of these will be good, but they mostly revolve around Gwash (save for the 1st one). Enjoy! :)

thank you!! keeping these in mind for when I finish Washington's Lady :))

[sorrel-scribbles]

Thanks for tagging me! I am in fact a reader, though I can't promise I have any good recommendations for you since I didn't read anything amazing this year.

1. How many books did you read this year?

Only 30, unfortunately, school sucks.

2. Did you reread anything? What?

The entire Protector of the Small quartet, which I reread at least once a year because Kel is far too much a part of my personality.

3. What were your top five books of the year?

That's so hard because I didn't read a lot of really really good things this year, but if I had to rank them it would be 1) The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray 2) Jane Steele by Lindsay Faye 3) The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix 4) The Black Hand by Stephen Tally and 5) All Fall Down by Ally Carter (pretending it is a standalone)

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Not exactly what the question is asking, but I read a lot of John Sandford. I don't particularly enjoy his work, but Lucas Davenport was the right flavor of mindless detective fiction for the month and a half when I was bouncing between ways to be sick. The character is misogynistic and kind of racist and I'm pretty sure Sanford has a thing for guns but the actual killers are interesting enough that it passes the time and there are some fun historical references.

5. What genre did you read the most of?

Historical Fiction. I am weak for books with 1940s women on the cover, what can I say.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

So many things. My TBR is 300+ books. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, the rest of the Skyward Series by Brandon Sanderson (I have only read the first two books), and Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley are what I would name if I had to pick though.

7. What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?

N/A

8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

I met my 23 books in 2023 goal, which is a thing my local bookstore runs (I get a prize), and I didn't set any other goals for this year, because I don't really find it to be helpful.

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Nope.

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix (which was actually released in 2022, but shhh it was the end of the year). It ripped my heart out.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

War and Peace. I haven't finished it yet, but I started it this year, and it's lovely. It's so immersive, culturally and historically, the prose is beautiful, and I don't mind the plotless bits.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini. I've heard good things about her work, and I really liked the premise, but I just had a hard time getting into it. There were weird little anachronisms, and the way the characters talked about the persecution of women under the Nazis was off in a way I can't put my finger on.

13. What were your least favorite books of the year

I hated The Secrets of Latimer House by Jules Wake. It was extremely badly written. I also subjected myself to Twilight to win a bet. Bella is useless, Edward is abusive, and Stephanie Meyer is racist, but the prose is actually decent.

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

Doing this on New Years, so my time is up lol.

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

Honestly, I have no idea. I would have to look them all up and check.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I haven't actually finished it yet (50 pages in) , but I know it got really big on booktok, and so far I am finding it to be just ok. I wouldn't have read it at all except that it was free.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

No. I have a pretty good eye for my own tastes, and if I'm wrong, the book is usually worse than I thought it would be.

18. How many books did you buy?

I think 20, but I'm not 100% sure. A bunch were second hand though, so I didn't spend thousands of dollars.

19. Did you use your library?

Yes, of course.

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

The only stuff I was looking forward to this year, I haven't read yet, so I can't weigh in.

21. Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

I watched a couple of withcindy videos about book drama. I don't follow it at all, but if anything has a long enough timestamp, I will eventually click on it.

22. What’s the longest book you read?

The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray. It was 574 pages.

23. What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?

I read Siddhartha in like three hours.

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

I DNFed four books: Secrets of Latimer House by Jules Wake, Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini, Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter, and Doc by Mary Doria Russel. Latimer House was just trash fiction, Resistance Women didn't feel in-period, Take the Key and Lock Her Up had a series of increasingly corny moments and a secret princess reveal that made me decide I was done with the series, and I disagreed with Russel's portrayal of Wyatt Earp so much that I quit reading it.

What reading goals do you have for next year?

Read at least 24 books, read one book a week this summer, and get caught up on my favorite series. I also need to find a better way to balance my light and heavy reads this year, because I read a lot of heavy stuff in 2022 that resulted in a lot of what I read this year being kinda trashy.

end-of-year book ask

How many books did you read this year?

Did you reread anything? What?

What were your top five books of the year?

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

What genre did you read the most of?

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

Did you get into any new genres?

What was your favorite new release of the year?

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Any books that disappointed you?

What were your least favorite books of the year?

What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

How many books did you buy?

Did you use your library?

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

What’s the longest book you read?

What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?

Did you DNF anything? Why?

What reading goals do you have for next year?