Maggie Shipstead

"Great Circle is a masterpiece...one of the best books I've ever read" --J. Courtney Sullivan A breathtaking epic... This is a stunning feat. --Publishers Weekly #1 IndieNext Pick *A Most Anticipated Book of 2021 according to O, The Oprah Magazine; Lit Hub; She Reads; Town & Country; Esquire; and Bustle* An unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost--Great Circle spans Prohibition-era Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New Zealand, wartime London, and modern-day Los Angeles. After being rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, Marian and Jamie Graves are raised by their dissolute uncle in Missoula, Montana. There--after encountering a pair of barnstorming pilots passing through town in beat-up biplanes--Marian commences her lifelong love affair with flight. At fourteen she drops out of school and finds an unexpected and dangerous patron in a wealthy bootlegger who provides a plane and subsidizes her lessons, an arrangement that will haunt her for the rest of her life, even as it allows her to fulfill her destiny: circumnavigating the globe by flying over the North and South Poles. A century later, Hadley Baxter is cast to play Marian in a film that centers on Marian's disappearance in Antarctica. Vibrant, canny, disgusted with the claustrophobia of Hollywood, Hadley is eager to redefine herself after a romantic film franchise has imprisoned her in the grip of cult celebrity. Her immersion into the character of Marian unfolds, thrillingly, alongside Marian's own story, as the two women's fates--and their hunger for self-determination in vastly different geographies and times--collide. Epic and emotional, meticulously researched and gloriously told, Great Circle is a monumental work of art, and a tremendous leap forward for the prodigiously gifted Maggie Shipstead.

Great Circle

"In this collection of stories, Maggie Shipstead dives into eclectic and vivid settings, from an Olympic village to a deathbed in Paris to a Pacific atoll, and illuminating a cast of indelible characters, Shipstead traverses ordinary and unusual realities with cunning, compassion, and wit. In "Acknowledgments," a male novelist reminisces bitterly on the woman who inspired his first novel, attempting to make peace with his humiliations before the book goes to print. In "The Cowboy Tango," spanning decades in the open country of Montana, a triangle of love and self-preservation plays out among an aging rancher called the Otter, his nephew, and a young woman named Sammy who works the horses"--

Stories

You Have a Friend In 10A

Possessing a Harvard education and all of the accoutrements of a privileged life, Winn Van Meter attends the wedding of his eldest daughter, which is scandalized by the bride's advancing pregnancy, her sister's broken heart and the seductive machinations of wedding party members. A first novel. 60,000 first printing.

Seating Arrangements

Helping a world-famous dancer to defect from the Soviet Union to the United States, ballerina Joan watches her friend's career soar while her own declines in the wake of her pregnancy and marriage, a situation that eventually exposes difficult secrets. 75,000 first printing.

Astonish Me

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021 THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER TIME MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A gripping historical adventure that feels sharp, fresh and modern' STYLIST 'So beautiful, so daring, so complete' TAYLOR JENKINS REID 'A masterpiece' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Luminous, masterful. Glides seamlessly through the 20th century, immersing the reader' TELEGRAPH, Best Fiction of 2021 'How deeply we care about each of these people. Extraordinary' NEW YORK TIMES 'Wonderful. Memorable characters and vivid storytelling' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MAGAZINE 'A tour-de-force' DAILY EXPRESS A soaring, breathtakingly ambitious novel that weaves together the astonishing lives of a 1950s vanished female aviator and the modern-day Hollywood actress who plays her on screen. _______________________ From her days as a wild child in prohibition America to the blitz and glitz of wartime London, from the rugged shores of New Zealand to a lonely iceshelf in Antarctica, Marian Graves is driven by a need for freedom and danger. Determined to live an independent life, she resists the pull of her childhood sweetheart, and burns her way through a suite of glamorous lovers. But it is an obsession with flight that consumes her most. Now, as she is about to fulfil her greatest ambition, to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole, Marian crash lands in a perilous wilderness of ice. Over half a century later, troubled film star Hadley Baxter is drawn inexorably to play the enigmatic pilot on screen. It is a role that will lead her to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh and spellbinding light on the story of the unknowable Marian Graves. _________________________________________ 'Extraordinary' NEW YORK TIMES 'Full of adventure, passion and tragedy' THE TIMES 'Soars from the very first page' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Luminous, masterful. Glides seamlessly through 20th century history' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Breathtaking' OBSERVER 'Impressive and gripping' SUNDAY TIMES 'Surprising and moving at every turn' GUARDIAN 'Audacious and Immersive' DAILY MAIL 'Accomplished and ambitious' FINANCIAL TIMES Readers love GREAT CIRCLE: ***** What a read! Immense story with beautifully created characters ***** A 600 page turner that you are sad to finish ***** The story is so well researched and planned; historical fiction standing side by side with history itself ***** This is a stunning achievement, my perspective feels fundamentally transformed through reading it ***** A wonderful saga, covering a large chunk of the twentieth century

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2021

A Novel

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • The irresistible story of a summer New England wedding weekend gone awry—a deliciously biting satirical glimpse into the lives of the well-bred and ill-behaved, from the bestselling author of Great Circle. The Van Meters have gathered at their family retreat on the island of Waskeke to celebrate the marriage of daughter Daphne—seven months pregnant—to the impeccably appropriate Greyson Duff. The weekend is full of champagne, salt air and practiced bonhomie, but long-buried discontent and simmering lust stir beneath the surface. Winn Van Meter, father of the bride, is not having a good time. Barred from the exclusive social club he’s been eyeing since birth, he’s also tormented by an inappropriate crush on Daphne’s beguiling bridesmaid, Agatha, and the fear that his daughter, Livia—recently heartbroken by the son of his greatest rival—is a too-ready target for the wiles of Greyson’s best man. When old resentments, a beached whale and an escaped lobster are added to the mix, the wedding that should have gone off with military precision threatens to become a spectacle of misbehavior.

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKER SHORTLISTED AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING GREAT CIRCLE 'Maggie Shipstead combines cinematic scope with a poet's attention to detail' THE TIMES A collection of sparkling award-winning stories from Maggie Shipstead, epic storyteller and astonishing chronicler of the daring and the damaged. Diving into eclectic and vivid settings, from an Olympic village to a deathbed in Paris to a Pacific atoll, and illuminating a cast of unforgettable characters, Shipstead traverses the ordinary and extraordinary with cunning, compassion, and wit. Meet the tough-talking cowgirl determined to defy gender expectations on a remote ranch in Montana, only to fall into a triangle of unrequited love; a high-brow male novelist who comes to terms with the girlfriend he never had just as his literary debut goes to print; a honeymoon couple's time in the hills of Romania builds into a moment of shattering tragedy. In the title story, a famous child actress breaks away from a religious cult, as she tells - with brittle candour - her tale of childhood damage and the dark side of fame. Exuding both tenderness and bite, Shipstead exposes complicated truths in this dazzling collection sealing her reputation as an astonishingly versatile master of fiction. --------------------- 'Shipstead is a writer who can vividly summon whatever she chooses, taking the reader deep inside the world she creates' FINANCIAL TIMES

You have a friend in 10A

On a remote island, an unfulfilled young female painter finds a singular kind of inspiration in this cunning short story about identity and empowerment by New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shipstead.

June Tremblay is struggling to find herself as a painter when she accepts a summer job as assistant to renowned artist Hiram Lammergeier on his private island off the Maine coast. The reclusive legend has one peculiar rule: under no circumstances is June to create any art of her own. Caught between her need to paint and her desire for Lammergeier, June rebels, and her transgression sets off a chain of retaliation that will shape the rest of her life.

Maggie Shipstead’s The June Paintings is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

The June Paintings

La Moretta

Center Stage

Angel Lust

Theory on the Origins of Time

From the prize-winning author of Seating Arrangements comes an exquisitely written, fiercely compelling glimpse into the demanding world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold over two generations. Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a young American dancer who helps a Soviet ballet star, the great Arslan Rusakov, defect in 1975. A flash of fame and a passionate love affair follow, but Joan knows that, onstage and off, she is destined to remain in the shadows. After her relationship with Arslan sours, Joan decides to make a new life for herself. She quits ballet, marries a good man, and settles into the rhythm of Californian life with their son, Harry. But as the years pass, Joan comes to understand that ballet isn't finished with her yet: for there is no mistaking that Harry is a prodigy. Inevitably Joan is soon pulled back into a world she thought she'd left behind and back to Arslan. Gripping and dramatic, Astonish Me is a story about the nature of talent, the choices we must make in search of fulfilment, and how we can never truly escape from the secrets of the past.

Astonish me

Spanning Prohibition-era Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New Zealand, wartime London, and modern-day Los Angeles, Great Circle tells the unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • The irresistible story of a summer New England wedding weekend gone awry—a deliciously biting satirical glimpse into the lives of the well-bred and ill-behaved, from the New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle. The Van Meters have gathered at their family retreat on the island of Waskeke to celebrate the marriage of daughter Daphne—seven months pregnant—to the impeccably appropriate Greyson Duff. The weekend is full of champagne, salt air and practiced bonhomie, but long-buried discontent and simmering lust stir beneath the surface. Winn Van Meter, father of the bride, is not having a good time. Barred from the exclusive social club he’s been eyeing since birth, he’s also tormented by an inappropriate crush on Daphne’s beguiling bridesmaid, Agatha, and the fear that his daughter, Livia—recently heartbroken by the son of his greatest rival—is a too-ready target for the wiles of Greyson’s best man. When old resentments, a beached whale and an escaped lobster are added to the mix, the wedding that should have gone off with military precision threatens to become a spectacle of misbehavior.

Matt Haig

Barack Obama

Kristin Hannah

Brit Bennett

Anna North

Martha Nibley Beck

Stacey Abrams

Octavia Butler

Maggie O'Farrell

Marie Benedict

Sarah Pearse

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Lauren Fox

Mateo Askaripour

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Naima Coster

Jason Mott

Lisa Harding

Jon Meacham

Patricia Engel

Amor Towles

Megan E. Abbott

Maria Dahvana Headley

Richard Powers

Marilynne Robinson

Laura Dave

Ethan Michaeli

Pip Williams

María Amparo Escandón

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Andrea Bartz

Chibundu Onuzo

Nathan Harris

Daina Ramey Berry

Sara Nović

Miranda Cowley Heller

Tia Williams

Ellery Lloyd

Flynn Berry

Qian Julie Wang

Cicely Tyson

Nina de Gramont

Marissa Stapley

Jessamine Chan

Charmaine Wilkerson

Tara M. Stringfellow

Naomi Krupitsky

Viola Davis

Lee Cole

Kali N. Gross

Shelby Van Pelt

Thrity N. Umrigar

Kamala D. Harris

The Book Club Kindles contain selections from the library's Table Talk and Cover to Cover Book Clubs as well as celebrity book club picks from Oprah Winfrey, Jenna Bush Hager, and Reese Witherspoon.

Book Club

Kindle

Durante anos Joan tentou esquecer o passado e encontrar paz e satisfação no papel de mulher e mãe. Naquele pacato subúrbio californiano, poucos conhecem a sua emocionante história - a história de uma jovem bailarina americana que, em Paris, se envolveu num romance apaixonado e sem futuro com Arslan Rusakov, a maior estrela do ballet russo. Após ter desempenhado um papel fundamental na sua deserção, Joan despediu-se dos palcos para sempre, de coração partido por Arslan e desiludida com a sua carreira modesta. Mas quando o seu filho se torna um bailarino prodigioso, Joan é de novo atraída para o mundo que julgara ter deixado para trás - um mundo onde se reencontra com segredos perigosos, Arslan e o desejo por aquilo que nunca poderá ter. Absorvente e dramático, Deslumbra-me é uma história sobre a natureza do talento, as escolhas que temos de fazer para alcançarmos a realização pessoal e como nunca conseguimos verdadeiramente fugir dos segredos do passado.

Deslumbra-me

HIMMELSTORMERE er en gribende roman om to uforglemmelige kvinder, hvis livsvalg og skæbner elegant flettes sammen på tværs af århundreder og kontinenter. Det er en roman, der med dyb empati udforsker, hvordan man kan forsone sig med, hvem man selv er, og finde ud af at leve sit liv, så man ikke bliver offer for ydre omstændigheder. Lige siden den skæbnesvangre nat, hvor hun som spæd blev reddet ud af flammerne på et synkende skib, til den dag hun første gang ser fly cirkle hen over barndomslandets store vidder til den dag, hun selv får mulighed for at se jorden fra luften, har Marian Graves’ liv været kendetegnet ved sult efter både frihed og fare. Efter en omtumlet tilværelse, der blandt andet indeholder et fatalt ægteskab med en spritsmugler, en professionel karriere som pilot i Alaska og en heroisk krigsindsats under 2. Verdenskrig som pilot i England, beslutter Marian sig for at flyve jorden rundt i en storcirkel hen over Jordens poler. Et halvt århundrede senere har Hadley Baxter, en strålende men kriseramt Hollywood-skuespillerinde, takket ja til en rolle som Marian Graves i en film om den forsvundne pilots liv. En rolle, der får større betydning for Hadley end hun nogensinde kunne have forestillet sig og som driver hende ud i en større undersøgelse af Marians liv og hemmeligheder. HIMMELSTORMERE blev shortlistet til Booker-prisen 2021 og er Maggie Shipsteads store gennembrud.

Himmelstormere

Maggie Shipstead

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