History, Books & Wine Podcast

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Loretta Ellsworth. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Jilted Countess . In the aftermath of World War II, and based on a true story, a young Hungarian émigré jilted by a G.I. persuades a Midwestern newspaper editor to help her find an American husband in this poignant novel. Paired with this episode: Loretta: White Win...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Alyson Richman. On this episode we’re going to talk about her new book, The Missing Pages. A ghost in a library. A secret lost to the sea. The Missing Pages weaves the true story of Harry Widener, Harvard’s young book collector who perished on the Titanic, with 90's era, Violet Hutchins, a grieving student working in the Widener Libra...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Debby Show. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Paper Roses . A sweeping, emotionally charged novel about family, inheritance, and identity. When a gifted con-artist sister’s latest scheme hits too close to home, a “good daughter” must confront buried truths about loyalty, reinvention, and whether it’s possible to break fre...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Paula Brackston. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Cathedral of Lost Souls . Book two in the Hecate Cavendish series, set in 1880s England, a spirited young woman who can see ghosts battles dark forces threatening her city. She must harness her magic, trust her allies, both the living and the dead, and confront growin...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Stephanie Burns. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Far From the A-List. In this fresh, propulsive take on fame in the tabloid era of the ’00s, a former child star struggles to figure out who she is beyond the characters she's played—on television and in relationships. Paired with this episode: Stephanie: Peach Tea El...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Kristi DeMeester. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Dark Sisters. In this fiercely captivating novel, horror meets historical fiction when a curse bridges generations, binding the fates of three women. Anne Bolton, a healer facing persecution for witchcraft, bargains with a dark entity for protection—but the fire she unle...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Liisa Kovala. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Like Water for Weary Souls . Set against the stark beauty of Depression-era Northern Ontario, the novel follows Finnish immigrant sisters Hanna and Essi Kivi as they struggle to survive in a rough mining town. When Hanna is found dead beneath the ice, Essi refuses to believe...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Patricia Falvey. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Famine Orphans. A vividly told, triumphant story that follows one of the thousands of young Irish women shipped to Australia after the Famine as part of the Earl Grey Scheme, whose indomitable bravery in an exotic, danger-laden land helped shape a new country. Paired...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Angela Shupe. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, In the Light of the Sun. Two sisters, separated by oceans and global conflict, are bonded through music and love in this gripping novel based on true events from World War II.  Paired with this episode: Angela: Iced Tea with Lime Eliza: Italian wine, Le Bruciate, Brunello An...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Nekesa Afia. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, As Long As You’re Mine . Beneath the glitter of 1930s Hollywood, dangerous secrets connect two generations of women in this atmospheric dual-timeline mystery about identity, sacrifice, and survival. Paired with this episode: Nekesa: San Pellegrino, Pomegranate & Orange El...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Katherine Scott Crawford. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Miniaturist’s Assistant . An art conservator in historic Charleston unearths a familiar face in a 200-year-old miniature portrait and realizes she’s lived more than one life, fighting to stay true to herself, she races to reconcile her complicated past, solve...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Mel Pennant. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, A Murder for Miss Hortense . A retired nurse, fearless sleuth, and proud Jamaican émigré Miss Hortense is drawn back into the secrets of her British community when a man is found dead in a friend’s home, forcing her to confront a decades-old betrayal and an unsolved crime th...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author J.E. Weiner. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Wretched and Undone. On the eve of the Civil War, Polish immigrants Marcin and Agnieszka Anderwald arrive in Bandera, Texas, seeking a fresh start in a new land of fertile soil and freedom. But their dreams quickly become nightmares when Marcin provokes a sinister specter...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Virginia Heath. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Look Before You Leap . In this Regency romantic comedy, a single lord is forced to settle down...and when a houseparty brings a happy-go-lucky lady's companion his way, his grumpy heart is unexpectedly warmed. Paired with this episode: Virginia Heath: Pouilly-Fumé, Fr...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author E. Elizabeth Watson. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Outlaw Ever After . Set against the backdrop of clan rivalries in medieval Scotland, the novel follows Peigi Grant and Alexander Comyn as secrets from a bloody wedding resurface fourteen years later. Betrayal, stolen lands, and the struggle for power collide in a tale...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Kelli Estes. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Smoke on the Wind . In the magnificent Scottish Highlands, two devoted mothers separated by centuries discover a haunting connection—one forged in the aftermath of the Highland Clearances and echoed across time.  Paired with this episode: Kelli: Johnnie Walker, mixed with cr...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Rebecca Rosenberg. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Silver Echoes . In 1920s Chicago, movie starlet Silver Dollar Tabor is drawn into a perilous world of speakeasies, ambition, and betrayal. A decade later in Colorado, her mother, Baby Doe, fights to save their silver mine while searching for her vanished daughter. A dua...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author Jacqueline Friedland. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Counting Backwards . A routine immigration case, a shocking legacy. Jessa Gidney’s quest for justice draws her into the heart of an abhorrent conspiracy. As she uncovers her personal ties to a heartbreaking past, her life takes a dramatic turn, in this emotionally ri...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Andrea Catalano. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The First Witch of Boston . Based on true firsthand accounts, John Winthrop’s own diary, and historical Massachusetts Bay Court records, The First Witch of Boston is the story of Thomas Jones and Margaret Jones, the first woman to be tried and executed for witchcraft in...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Madeline Martin. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Secret Book Society . This book is set in Victorian London and is about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.   Paired with this episode: Madeline Martin: Fleur de Mer, Provencial rose Eliza: Summer in a Bottle, rose Madeline...

Welcome back to History, Books and Wine, Season 5! I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Jane Healey. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Women of Arlington Hall . In this book, a female codebreaker puts her future and her heart on the line in a stirring novel about love, loyalty, betrayal, and Cold War spy games.  Paired with this episode: Jane: Diet Coke...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest historian and writer, Holley Snaith. On this episode we’re going to talk about her article, Patsy Cline: The Trailblazing Voice That Redefined Country Music published in American Heritage Magazine. More than six decades after her passing, Cline's remarkable voice and unwavering determination continue to embody the American dream, inspiring g...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Martha Hall Kelly. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club. Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women—a spectacular novel inspired by true events.  Paired with this episode: Martha: M...

Join Eliza and guest host, Sophie Perinot, as we celebrate the launch of Confessions of a Grammar Queen , the bold, feminist, and delightfully bookish novel that proves copyediting is a revolutionary act. We’re talking red pencils, office politics, feminist book clubs, and what it means to rewrite the rules—one sentence (and sexist boss) at a time. Paired with this episode: Sophie: Pimm's Coc...

I’m excited to be joined on the show today by guest author, Hazel Gaynor. On this episode we’re going to talk about her book, Before Dorothy. Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own grand adventure, leaving gritty Chicago behind for Kansas and a life that will utterly change her.  Paired with this episode: Hazel: Aunt Emily -- gin, calvados, apricot brandy, orange...