Publication Date: January 20, 2026
The call for liberty creates a divide between family and country, desire and duty, love and loyalty.
In 1777, caught in the crossroads of the American Revolution, sisters Maebel and Coralie Bohannon’s quaint New Jersey village becomes a battleground as they house American officers. Rebellion ripples through their family as members take opposing sides–Patriots and Loyalists–causing a deep chasm that fractures their once-unbreakable bond.
As Mae’s friendship grows with the American general Rhys Harlow, Coralie continues her liaison with her childhood sweetheart, a British officer stationed in New York. Mae, torn between her deepening love for the general and suspicion that her sister is a British spy, leaves the only home she’s ever known for the New York frontier. When betrayal strikes in the heart of the wilderness, she’s forced to take a perilous journey that tests her very survival and those she loves, all in the name of liberty.
On the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Laura Frantz offers a stirring friends-to-lovers historical romance of divided loyalties, patriotism, sacrifice, sisterhood, and love set during the American Revolution.
The battle for American independence pitted neighbor against neighbor and even brother against brother.
That concept is illustrated in The Belle of Chatham by Laura Frantz. Set in Chatham, N.J., some officers from the Continental Army seek housing with the Bohannon sisters.
Mae and Coralie share a close sisterly bond, but their hearts put them on opposite sides. While Mae falls for a dashing American general, Coralie maintains a relationship with a British officer.
The author weaves historical detail into the story, bringing the colonial era to life. Fans of this era will welcome the level of detail.
With General Rhys Harlow staying in their home, the two sisters are divided by loyalty. A tragic set of circumstances unfolds, forcing Mae to make a difficult choice and then live with the outcome.
The Belle of Chatham highlights the separation caused by differing viewpoints on the path to freedom.
Laura Frantz is a two-time Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of more than fifteen novels, including The Indigo Heiress, The Seamstress of Acadie, The Rose and the Thistle, The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Lacemaker, and A Heart Adrift. She is the proud mom of an American soldier and a career firefighter. Though she will always call Kentucky home, Laura lives with her husband in Washington State.
