Is there a teacher in America who doesn't require Rebecca in any course devoted to "narrative voice"? If so, she is doing a great disservice to her students. At last we have a competent, if not, exceptional chronicle of the author who transformed the stilted Gothic novel into a truly believable, frightening experience. I love the way Tatiana De Ronay's biography tries to get inside the head of a writer who was as modern in style and effect as Joyce and Stein. On the surface, Daphne lead the celebrated life of an amazingly successful writer. She marries a war hero, and writes a blockbuster in her thirties, but not without enduring the doubt and anguish many of us assume is only the plight of the unread. That Tatiana does not offer any explanation (or proof) of a sexualized relationship between Daphne and a former French headmistress is my only criticism of this fine work.

What if the abolition movement had failed? What if slavery was alive and well in the United States today? That's the brilliant premise the author uses to plot a really suspenseful thriller about a federal agent who is assigned to re-capture escaped slaves. Had this book not been a perfectly crafted thriller, it probably would've turned out to be a disappointing morality tale about the state of Racism in America. But Ben Winters really nails the suspense and I was transformed by how real this novel feels. This is the stunning narrative about a black man who must face his own fears to save us from a brutality we all know still exists. Brilliant and worth sharing with my students.