History, Books & Wine Podcast

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Tiffany Warren. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, A Harlem Wedding . A dishy and dramatic novel of the Harlem Renaissance and its most famous Black debutante, Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, whose spectacular wedding to poet Countee Cullen was the society event of the year...even though the bride and gro...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Ruta Sepetys. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, A Fortune of Sand . Set against the crumbling grandeur of 1920s Detroit and inspired by actual, long-buried historical events, A Fortune of Sand is a haunting mosaic of glamour and grift. In a city built on ambition, just how far will a dynasty go to keep their secrets?...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Jennifer Ryan. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Queen’s Coronation . As a young Queen Elizabeth II prepares to take the throne, three women in her employ will discover where they belong in a rapidly changing world. Paired with this episode: Jennifer: Chablis Eliza: Champagne Jennifer’s Book: The Queen’s Coronati...

I'm excited to do something a little different on the show today and turn the microphone on myself. On this episode, we're going to talk about my novel, Lost in the Summer of '69 which released today! Through reader and listener questions, I'll share the inspiration behind the story, the research that brought 1969 to life, and the journey of writing a novel about music, memory,...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Natasha Lester. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Chateau on Sunset . A sheltered young woman living at the Chateau Marmont falls under the spell of a scandalous, secretive man as all of Hollywood’s glamour swirls around her—a stunning feminist reimagining of Jane Eyre.   Paired with this episode: Natasha: Mint J...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest authors, Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. On this episode we’re going to talk about their new book, A Founding Mother . A sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adams—wife of one president and mother to another—whose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic.   Paired with this episode: Stephanie and Laura: Hard Cider and Gl...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Nicola Harrison. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Island Club . Set against the sun-drenched beaches of Balboa Island, with its prim and proper 1950s facade, The Island Club is a story of love, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves―and what can be gained when the truth is finally revealed. Paired with this e...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Eloisa James. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Last Lady B . A witty, gothic-twist historical romance about Lady Genevieve, who marries an old, wealthy lord for practical reasons, only to find herself a widow at a haunted Scottish abbey, navigating ghosts, secrets, and a grumpy solicitor, who becomes her unlikel...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Priya Parmar. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Original. This stunning novel plunges into the tumultuous life of screen icon Katharine Hepburn, a star whose fierce independence, passionate spirit, and fluid sexuality shattered Hollywood’s rules and redefined what it meant to be a woman in film.   Paired with thi...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Heather Webb. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Hope Keeper . In 1919 Washington, D.C., Elisabeth Beaumont, a struggling jeweler, is drawn into the glittering yet dangerous world of socialite Evalyn McLean and the cursed Hope Diamond, forcing her to confront grief, ambition, and the truth behind her brother’s dea...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Janyre Tromp. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Scorpion Thief, a Cold War thriller weaving Egyptian archaeology, sisterly betrayal, and the global politics surrounding King Tutankhamun’s treasures.    Paired with this episode: Janyre: Dirty Chai Tea Latte Eliza: 1000 Stories Cabernet Sauvignon  Janyre's Boo...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Kayla Hardy. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Quarter Queen . Inspired by the life of Marie Laveau, a  Voodoo witch must navigate a magically and racially divided nineteenth-century New Orleans to save her mother—and the soul of the city itself. Paired with this episode: Kayla: Les Frères Bastards  Eliza: Butter...

I'm excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Allison Pataki. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, It Girl, a sweeping, sensational novel of America’s first “It Girl,” whose dramatic journey to center stage echoes through the decades. Paired with this episode: Allison: Mimosa & Coffee  Eliza: Tea Allison's Book: It Girl What Allison is Reading: Daught...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Laura Vogt. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new novel, In the Great Quiet. A pioneer unwaveringly endures the Oklahoma frontier in an epic adventure about a woman haunted by secrets and searching for home.   Paired with this episode: Laura: Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso  Eliza: The Velvet Devil Merlot Laura's Book: In The...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Olesya Gilmore. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru, A fearless fortune teller in 1920s Paris must use her powers to divine who she can trust when an exiled Romanov princess and her brother come to her seeking answers about a decades-old mystery.  Paired with this episode: Olesya: Châtea...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Shana Abe. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, A Crown of Stars, a sumptuously vivid and poignant account of the Lusitania ’s fateful last days, drawn from the true story of an extraordinary young actress who survived the unthinkable.  Paired with this episode: Shana: Cabernet Sauvignon Eliza: Whispering Angel Rosé  Sh...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Shelley Noble. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Sisters of Book Row, a gripping and timely historical novel of books, banning, and the women who helped save New York’s famed Book Row . Paired with this episode: Shelley: Montepulciano D'Abruzzo Eliza: Seaglass, Pinot Grigio Shelley's Book: The Sisters o...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Lisa Patton. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, Kissing the Sky, a soulful, nostalgic novel about a young woman coming of age in the '60s to the blare of the music that shaped a generation.  Paired with this episode: Lisa: Chardonnay Eliza: Hot Cocoa with Peanut Butter Whiskey Lisa's Book: Kissing the Sky Wh...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Louise Fein. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new novel, Book of Forbidden Words. An encrypted manuscript unleashes a chain of consequences across 400 years, set in a world of banned books, fear of new ideas, and the dangers of censorship. Paired with this episode: Louise: Nyetimber Cuvee (Bubbles!) Eliza: Octopoda, Napa Vall...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Saara El-Arifi. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, Cleopatra. Cleopatra reclaims her story in this sensuous historical epic—revealing a powerful, strategic ruler silenced by myth, misogyny, and history’s willful distortions. Paired with this episode: Saara: Jubel, peach beer Eliza: Tinto di Verano Saara's Book: C...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Nancy Bernhard. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Double Standard Sporting House, a brothel nurse in nineteenth-century New York City who fights brutality in the sex trade and pioneers treatments for survivors of sexual violence.  Paired with this episode: Nancy: Venge Vineyards, Scout's Honor Red Blend Eliz...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Janie Chang. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Fourth Princess, a haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China. Two young women living in a crumbling, once-grand Shanghai mansion face danger as secrets of their pasts come to light, even as the mansion’s own secret threatens the present. Welcome, Janie! Paired with thi...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Donna Jones Alward. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, Ship of Dreams. Aboard the ill-fated Titanic, Ship of Dreams follows two women bound by friendship and impossible choices. Hannah Martin hopes the voyage will mend her fractured marriage while hiding a devastating secret, while spirited Louisa Phillips flees a fut...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Clay Cane. On this episode we’re going to talk about his new book, Burn Down Master’s House. Inspired by true, long-suppressed histories of enslaved resistance, Burn Down Master’s House interweaves the lives of men and women across the American South whose quiet–and not so quiet–defiance and bold rebellion ignite a collective uprising. Th...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Stephanie Cowell. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Man in the Stone Cottage, in which Charlotte Bronte and her sisters become the main characters. The book centers on the period of Charlotte’s life along with her sister Emily (who wrote “Wuthering Heights”) when they were writing and first publishing these great book...