Jean Zimmerman on The Orphanmaster, Michael Ennis on The Malice of Fortune, Debra Dean on The Mirrored World, and Da Chen on My Last Empress
Sunday, Nov. 18, 12:00 p.m., Room 8303 (Building 8, 3rd Floor)
Author(s) and Guest(s)
Jean Zimmerman
In The Orphanmaster (Viking, $27.95), Jean Zimmerman turns her knowledge of seventeenth-century Manhattan into a tale of mystery, romance, political intrigue, and suspense. Orphan children are disappearing or turning up dead, and among those investigating the mysterious state of affairs are a quick-witted, twenty-two-year-old trader and a dashing British spy. Both the search for the killer and their newfound romance are endangered when one is accused of being a witch and the other is sentenced to hang for espionage. Zimmerman is the author of numerous works of nonfiction, including Love, Fiercely: A Gilded Age Romance, and The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune, and a Dynasty. This is her first novel.
Michael Ennis
Michael Ennis’s historical thriller set in the Renaissance, The Malice of Fortune (Doubleday, $26.95) joins Machiavelli and da Vinci in a quest to unmask an enigmatic serial killer “. . . can stand shoulder to shoulder with Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose . . .”— Kirkus starred review. Ennis has written extensively on subjects ranging from military preparedness and national politics to art and architecture. His is also the author of the historical novels Byzantium and Duchess of Milan.
Debra Dean
Debra Dean, author of the bestselling The Madonnas of Leningrad, re-imagines the life of one of Russia’s most beloved holy figures in her historical novel The Mirrored World (HarperCollins, $25.99) set in 19th century Russia. Saint Xenia of Russia, married to a sister in the Empress’ Imperial Choir, went mad with grief when she was widowed at twenty-six. The Mirrored World follows Xenia from their younger years in the lower nobility through the tragedy and madness that transforms Xenia into a revered angel of mercy to the poor. “Dean’s novel grows more profound and affecting with every page.”—Booklist. Dean is also the author of the short story collection Confessions of a Falling Woman.
Da Chen
Da Chen’s latest novel is My Last Empress (Crown, $25.00) a story of passion set against the upheavals of nineteenth-century imperial China. A young blue blood from Connecticut travels to the Orient, convinced that he can reconnect with the ghost of his one true love, Annabelle. There, he meets the emperor’s concubine who looks shockingly like Annabelle. Samuel cannot hide his desire, but when their love is discovered the young couple must escape the palace. “An epic novel that neatly distills modern Chinese history . . .”—Kirkus starred review. Chen’s debut novel was the much-praised Brothers. He is also the author of the memoirs, Colors of the Mountain and Sounds of the River.
Schedule
Location
Miami Book Fair International * Miami Dade College
300 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33132
Room 8303 (Building 8, 3rd Floor)
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