Have you discovered a new-to-you author?
I visited an enchanting bookstore, Beach Town Books on Avenida Serra in San Clemente, CA, with neatly stacked bookshelves from floor to ceiling. I perused the historical fiction aisle picking up specific titles, which sounded exciting and read the blurb on the back to see if the main character’s conflict would compel further reading. I soon came to a title that did just that and took it to the cashier to purchase The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter. It was then I discovered a new-to-me historical fiction author, Hazel Gaynor. The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter was inspired by actual events told in the past and present by two courageous women, Grace Darling (1898) and Matilda Emmerson (1938), who fatefully share a connection.
I went to the library and chose another book by Hazel Gaynor entitled When we were Young and Brave. (Also published under the title The Bird in the Bamboo Cage.) In this book, Gaynor writes about universal themes of bravery, love, grief, hope, friendship, kindness, and selflessness, which are present no matter when the event occurred or how distant we are from it. This book is a fascinating story told from two characters' points of view, Elspeth Kent, a teacher in an English Missionary School in China, and ten-year-old Nancy Plummer, a student at Chefoo School. They went from being protected and safe to a life of fearful insecurity when Japanese soldiers took over the school during WW II, eventually sending the children and their teachers to an internment camp.
Hazel Gaynor describes an inconceivable horror based on the Weihsien Concentration Camp in Shantung province in China. The bravery of their teachers and other heroic victims helped the children survive with the foundation of the Girl Guides, which gave them purpose along with other courageous victims under the control of Japanese soldiers.
I am drawn to historical fiction to read and write because I appreciate the research historical fiction authors must commit to when writing their novels using fictional characters inspired by true events.
Hazel Gaynor's newest book, published in June of this year, is The Last Lifeboat. Maybe that will be next on my summer reading list.
Have you discovered a new-to-you author this summer? What books have you read? I would love to hear from you.
