Historical fiction at its finest

It's day...who knows...of self-isolation as the craziness of the coronavirus continues. But luckily, I've got lots of good books to keep me busy and my mind occupied. The brief snowstorm we had when last I reviewed has given way to beautiful sunshine that I hope stays. But it's March and I don't live south of the Mason-Dixon line, so we'll see...

Gill Paul's Jackie and Maria (William Morrow, August 2020) is an excellent choice if you're looking for heartfelt historical fiction. It's beautifully written and meticulously researched. I hadn't been familiar with her work before, but I'll be certain to be on the lookout for it now.

It tells the stories of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas, giving alternating chapters for their points of view. Jackie, who is doubting her place as the wife of Jack Kennedy and Maria Callas, also doubting her marriage, but also desperately wanting a child And there is, of course, Aristotle Onassis, who links them both.

I was already knowledgeable of Mrs. Kennedy and how she was treated by her husband while he was alive, and the press and public after his death. Of Mrs. Callas I knew relatively little, so it was lovely to learn more about her. The narrative flows beautifully and I devoured this one. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in Kennedy and/or Callas and their lives in the late 1950s through the late 1970s.

The ARC I had included historical notes of what happened to the major characters in the book as well as a healthy bibliography, so look for that in the finished version as well.

A special thank you to Annie's Book Stop, where I was able to get a hold of this ARC to review.