Forgotten Women: Book 1
Publication Date: November 15, 2022
She’s going to be the greatest orator of the Civil War.
Eighteen-year-old Anna Dickinson is nothing like the women around her, and she knows it. Gifted with a powerful voice, a razor-sharp wit, and unbounded energy, the diminutive curlyhead sets out to surpass the men of her day as she rails against slavery and pushes for women’s rights. Only two things can bring her downfall-the entangling love she has for her devoted companion, Julia, and an assassin’s bullet.
Forced to accompany the fiery young orator on her speaking tour of New England, Julia Pennington fights her growing attraction to the ever more popular celebrity. When a traitor sets out to assassinate Anna, Julia must risk her life to save her.
Loosely based on the life of forgotten orator, feminist, and lesbian, Anna Dickinson, That Dickinson Girl is the story of one woman’s rise to fame and fortune at the expense of love during the political and social turmoil of the American Civil War.
Emerging from the pages of forgotten history is a woman who came to be known as America’s Joan of Arc, delivering speeches on women’s rights and other social issues.
Author Joan Koster highlights the life of Anna Dickinson in That Dickinson Girl. As the first installment in the Forgotten Women series, this historical fiction novel centers around the Civil War era.
In selecting Anna as a subject, the author builds credibility for the series. Not only was she the most photographed woman in America in 1863, but she was the first woman to give a political address to Congress.
To tell Anna’s story, the author creates a fictional mill girl named Julia to ultimately serve as a companion, which was likely the socially accepted title during the time period. Love and success provide two opposing forces, particularly as objections to Anna’s message turn violent.
That Dickinson Girl delivers the story of an historical figure through a fictional lens, highlighting a forgotten woman.
Joan Koster is an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction who loves mentoring writers. Fascinated by history, mystery, and romance, Joan blends those passions into historical novels about forgotten women, romantic thrillers where finding love is always an adventure, and guides to writing better in the top-selling Write for Success series. Joan blogs about women who should be remembered at JoanKoster.com, about everyday life during the Civil War at American Civil War Voice, about romance at Zara West Romance, and about writing at Zara West’s Journal.
