Almost Famous Women: Stories

From the acclaimed author of Birds of a Lesser Paradise, a dazzling new collection that explores the lives of unforgettable women in history.

The fascinating characters in Megan Mayhew Bergman€s new stories are defined by their creative impulses, fierce independence, and sometimes reckless decisions. In €œThe Siege at Whale Cay,€ cross-dressing Standard Oil heiress Joe Carstairs seduces Marlene Dietrich. In €œA High-Grade Bitch Sits Down for Lunch,€ aviator and writer Beryl Markham lives alone in Nairobi and engages in a battle of wills with a stallion. In €œHell-Diving Women,€ the first integrated, all-girl swing band sparks a violent reaction in North Carolina.

Other heroines, born in proximity to the spotlight, struggle to distinguish themselves: Lord Byron€s illegitimate daughter, Allegra; Oscar Wilde€s wild niece, Dolly; Edna St. Vincent Millay€s talented sister, Norma; James Joyce€s daughter, Lucia.

Almost Famous Women offers and elegant and intimate look at artists who desired recognition. The world wasn€t always kind to the women who star in these stories, but through Mayhew Bergman€s stunning imagination, they receive the attention they deserve.