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From the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters - Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa - a chance at a better life.
But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without--and what they are willing to do about it.
As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.
Have you read other books by this author, and if so, how do they compare to this one? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style? What audience would you recommend A Map to Paradise to?
I have read 2 other books by this author As Bright as Heaven and The Last Year of The War. I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Year of the War. This book A Map of Paradise is a lot different than her usual writing.
-Teresa_L
Overall, what did you think of A Map to Paradise? (no spoilers, please!)
I generally like Susan Meissner books. Others I've read are: The Last Year of the War (4 stars), A Bridge Across the Ocean (3 1/2 stars), Only the Beautiful (5 stars), The Nature of Fragile Things (5 stars), As Bright as Heaven (4 stars), Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Fall of Marigolds. I felt ...
-Melinda_J
"Starred Review. Meissner's prose maintains a balanced tone of sorrow throughout this novel. Fans of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible and the television show Six Feet Under will enjoy." - Library Journal
"A good choice for book groups who read M. L. Stedman's A Light between the Oceans (2012), another novel set in the postWWI era in which tragedy blurs moral lines." - Booklist
"With stunning prose and keen detail, Meissner has deftly created a heady mix of love, politics and survival - a family saga, coming of age tale and riveting historical fiction all in one. A must read!" - Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan's Tale
"From the unthinkable tragedy of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic to the glittering speakeasies of the roaring twenties, Susan Meissner delivers a story of one family's heartbreak and hope. Strong, resilient, and determined to make their way in a changing world, Meissner's characters step off the page and into history." - Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours
This information about As Bright as Heaven was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than three-quarters of a million books in readers' hands and translations in eighteen languages. She is an author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include The Nature of Fragile Things, which earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly; The Last Year of the War, named to Real Simple magazine's list of best books for 2019; As Bright as Heaven, which earned a starred review in Library Journal; Secrets of Charmed Life, a Goodreads finalist for Best Historical Fiction 2015; and A Fall of Marigolds, named to Booklist's Top Ten Women's Fiction titles for 2014. She attended Point Loma Nazarene University in California and makes her home with her husband and ...
Name Pronunciation
Susan Meissner: MICE-ner

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