
What we’re about
People who enjoy history but especially enjoy it told as fiction in order that they gain human perspective. Summed up best by this quote: “History tells us what people do; historical fiction helps us imagine how they felt.” Guy Vanderhaeghe
Meetings will be held virtually on either the 2nd or 3rd Monday from 7:00pm-8:00pm (eastern time zone) on Zoom. The schedule and supporting materials will be on the website.
Deborah Mayer and Lori Vinesett, Co-Coordinators
When you join, we ask that you include a photo of yourself so that it will be easier for everyone to find/recognize one another at meetups.
Please be sure you sign up to our events before showing up!
Non-Networking Policy: We are a friendship-based group. We do not allow networking of any type (e.g., passing around business cards, advertising, solicitation, gathering email address/sending emails for the purpose of sales/promotion/recruitment, posting ads for your own group/to create sales for any product you sell). If you do try any of the above it will be cause for immediate removal from the group. Our members do not wish to be used in this way so please do not join us if this is your idea of friendship. There are plenty of other great meetup groups set up specifically for this purpose, please join them instead.
Disclaimer: By signing up to attend these events, you agree and confirm to discharge the organizer, co-organizer, and any event host from any personal injury or any legal dispute. We are friends and take NO responsibility for you in any way, shape, or form! You are responsible for yourself.
Thank you for understanding!
Upcoming events
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- •Online
The Wharton Plot (2024) by Mariah Fredricks
OnlineSynopsis: 1911 New York City. Edith Wharton delves into the circumstances behind the murder of a fellow writer, David Graham Phillips. He was
supposedly killed to prevent the publication of his latest novel, Susan Lenox, which was
explosively revealing of high society.
Review: THE WHARTON PLOT | Kirkus Reviews
Extra feature: Gilded Age Murder: Mariah Fredericks Discusses The Wharton Plot - Historical Novel Society5 attendees - •Online
Happy Land and American Queen
OnlineThe true story of Louella Montgomery and the Kingdom of the Happy Land, a community of formerly enslaved people she helped establish in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina after the Civil War. Louella is known as the only Black woman to have ruled as a queen in America. Two novels, The American Queen by Vanessa Miller and Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, are inspired by this history, with The American Queen focusing on Louella's perspective.
Title: Happy Land (2025) by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Synopsis: The story of enslaved people in NC after the Civil War who established a community for Black people called the Kingdom of the Happy Land told through varying alternating viewpoints.Title: The American Queen (2023) by Vanessa Miller
Synopsis: 1865. 24-year-old Louella and her husband lead a band of 400 newly freed people out of Mississippi to create Happy Land on the border of SC/NC. It is the story of that journey and
that kingdom, where people worked together to make sure everyone was provided for and
lived indignity and cooperation.
Reviews: Book review of Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The American Queen
Extra features: Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez discusses her new novel 'Happy Land' : NPR
The American Queen by Vanessa Miller | BGC Book Club4 attendees
Past events
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Group links
Organizers
