Bestselling author of Daughters of Rome and The Huntress returns with The Briar Club. Her latest novel blends historical intrigue with the complexities of female friendship. Set in Washington, DC during the McCarthy era, the story centres on the lives of five women who find themselves bound together by secrets.
Despite its shabby exterior, Briarwood House is a female-only boarding house that becomes a sanctuary for its residents. Everyone keeps to themselves - Fliss, the English beauty, Nora, a policeman’s daughter who is involved with a gangster, Beatrice, a frustrated former baseball star and Arlene, a staunch McCarthy supporter.
The arrival of the mysterious widow Grace serves as a catalyst for the novel’s unfolding drama. Her attic-room dinner parties create a special connection with her fellow boarders and unlikely friendships form. Each woman looks forward to the Briar Club’s weekly dinners for their own reasons.
When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club must decide who is the true enemy. As the story unfolds, Kate explores themes of loyalty and trust in an era of widespread suspicion. Her portrayal of post-war America has a powerful undercurrent of fear and paranoia indicted by the Red Scare. At the time it was thought necessary to guard against people seeking to overthrow the government and a fear of communist infiltration. McCarthyism was a campaign against alleged communists in the US government. Many were blacklisted or lost their jobs, though most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party.
The Briar Club is an evocative novel that captures the essence of a tumultuous time in American history. It is also a thrilling novel for history fans and those interested in the intersection of gender and politics. I especially enjoyed reading about women’s changing roles in post-war America. Kate Quinn’s historical fiction books have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in San Diego, USA with her husband and three rescue dogs. Follow Kate Quinn online.
Reviewer: Andrea Molloy
Harper Collins
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