Historical

Like his first novel, The Detroit Electric Scheme, D.E. Johnson’s second novel featuring the troubled Will Anderson is a richly layered portrait of Detroit in 1911. Poised at the dawn of the burgeoning auto industry, Will’s family owns the Detroit Electric Company, a producer of electric cars. The pricey electrics, quiet and easy to start, were driven mainly by wealthy women, but gasoline cars, cheaper and faster than electrics, are starting to overtake the market, despite the difficulty in starting them. And Henry Ford, with his ceaseless march toward efficiency in the workplace, is overtaking the electric in that way as well. His moving assembly line concept is miles ahead of the way electrics were produced, one bit at a time, carted between workstations. read more

Carrie Bebris’ charming series following Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett and her Mr. Darcy after their marriage also patterns itself on Austen’s novels. The latest installment is based on Persuasion, and the delightful Anne Elliott from that novel makes an appearance here. What Bebris really utilizes, however, is the setting of Lyme and it’s naval background for her story.

In Austen’s time, of course, England was the top sea power in the world, at a time when ships and shipping were the only way of moving goods overseas. Being a naval officer was an important and respected job, and when one turns up with his eye on Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, in this novel, it’s no surprise either that Georgiana responds to the handsome officer’s friendly overtures, or that her protective brother looks at him askance. read more