The following items are available at the Hancock County Public Library, 900 W. McKenzie Road. For more information on the library’s collection or to reserve a title, visit hcplibrary.org.
Adult Fiction
“The Ladies of the Secret Circus,” by Constance Sayers
Paris, 1925: To enter the Secret Circus is to enter a world of wonder, a world where women weave illusions of magnificent beasts, carousels take you back in time, and trapeze artists float across the sky. Bound to her family’s circus, it’s the only world Cecile Cabot knows until she meets a young painter and embarks on a passionate affair that could cost her everything.
Virginia, 2004: Lara Barnes is on top of the world, until her fiance disappears on their wedding day. When her search for answers leads to her great-grandmother’s journals, Lara is swept into a story of a dark circus and ill-fated love. Soon secrets about Lara’s family history begin to come to light, revealing a curse that has been claiming payment from the women in her family for generations. A curse that might be tied to her fiancé’s mysterious disappearance.
Adult Nonfiction
“Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019” by Ibram X. Kendi
The story begins in 1619 — a year before the Mayflower — when the ship the White Lion disgorges “some 20-and-odd Negroes” onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, following a thousand routes to this country, continue a journey defined by oppression, struggles, achievements and millions of ordinary lives passing through history. “Four Hundred Souls” is a community history of African Americans. The editors assembled 90 brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that 400-year span. The writers tell the story through historical essays, short stories and personal vignettes. They approach history through the eyes of historical icons and the untold stories of ordinary people.
