For fans of Bridgerton and The Davenports comes a sweeping historical novel from bestselling author Veronica Chambers about courageous (and flirtatious) Ida B. Wells as she navigates society parties and society prejudices to become a civil rights crusader.
Before she became a warrior, Ida B. Wells was an incomparable flirt with a quick wit and a dream of becoming a renowned writer. The first child of newly freed parents who thrived in a community that pulsated with hope and possibility after the Civil War, Ida had a big heart, big ambitions, and even bigger questions: How to be a good big sister when her beloved parents perish in a yellow fever epidemic? How to launch her career as a teacher? How to make and keep friends in a society that seems to have no place for a woman who speaks her own mind? And – always top of mind for Ida – how to find a love that will let her be the woman she dreams of becoming?
Ahead of her time by decades, Ida B. Wells pioneered the field of investigative journalism with her powerful reporting on violence against African Americans. Her name became synonymous with courage and an unflinching demand for racial and gender equality. But there were so many facets to Ida Bell and critically acclaimed writer Veronica Chamber unspools her full and colorful life as Ida comes of age in the rapidly changing South, filled with lavish society dances and parties, swoon-worthy gentleman callers, and a world ripe for the taking.
Download and start listening now!
"This coming-of-age story inspired by the personal and professional life of civil rights crusader, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, is beautiful, ambitious, freethinking, and PASSIONATE. When it comes to distilling American culture and history, Veronica Chambers is one of our most imaginative and brilliant novelists.” —Kwame Alexander, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author of "The Door of No Return" Trilogy and "Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir""
—
“Veronica Chambers is an alchemist. In this vivid novel she has plucked Ida B. Wells from history’s dusty shelf and returned her to us—radiant, courageous, openhearted, and authentic. Ida is glorious!”—Candace Fleming, award-winning author of The Enigma Girls
“Ida B. Wells is a titan of history, and Veronica Chambers has now made her a literary heroine for the ages. Chambers authentically renders Ida in her full humanity, imagining her deepest thoughts and feelings as though she were our best friend. This beautiful book is sure to inspire a new generation of budding activists and writers."—Saina Taub, creator and star of the musical Suffs
*“A vivid, timely, and immersive introduction to an activist and her enduring legacy.
— Kirkus, starred reviewBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Veronica Chambers is the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl and coauthor with Marcus Samuelsson of the New York Times bestseller Yes, Chef. She is also coauthor of Robin Roberts’ bestselling memoir, Everybody’s Got Something. A contributor to several anthologies, including the bestselling Bitch in the House, she has also been a senior editor at the New York Times Magazine, Glamour, and Newsweek. She is a JSK Knight Fellow at Stanford.
Janina Edwards, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a native of Chicago and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts acting program. Her 2016 performance of Voice of Freedom was a finalist for the Audie Award.