Cartier's Hope

Progressive Era women's fiction is becoming a mainstay, but Cartier's Hope stands out among a growing field of titles. The book pulls you in with its elaborate attention to period detail. Soon enough, you find yourself rooting for our heroine, a young woman making her way back from a well-intentioned tragedy to retake her place in journalism, one of the few careers open to women of that era.

Yes, there is the Hope Diamond, and its whereabouts get shady amid a plot with plenty of family and character secrets. What is surprising is the layers of complications that lead the reader through the world's injustices, leading to a shocking bit of history that propels our heroine into action.

The book runs on beyond a reasonable finish to its story, in large part to give us all the ending we secretly crave where love and rebellion intersect. The author's research is sound, and sometimes striking in its depth. Leading a life of pursuing liberty can be thrilling to watch.