Elizabeth J. Church

A luminous and enthralling story of birds and science, ambition and sacrifice, revolutions - both big and small - and the late blooming of an unforgettable woman. In 1941, spirited and adventurous Meridian Wallace begins her ornithology studies at the University of Chicago. The last thing she expects is to fall in love with a man two decades older: her brilliant physics professor, Alden Whetstone - or for him to be recruited to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to take part in a mysterious wartime project. Meridian agrees to give Alden a year of her life, deferring her own ambitions for the sake of her husband's. But hers is a world, and a time, in which a wife cannot be a scientist and a woman cannot choose her own destiny. As the decades pass, Meridian strives to resist the clipping of her wings, torn between who she is and who circumstances demand her to be. It is a struggle that will make her enemies and lead to heartache, but which also offers the possibility of freedom, friendship and transformation...

A powerful novel about a gutsy showgirl who tries to conquer her past amongst the glamour of 1960s Las Vegas—and finds unexpected fortune, friendship, and love. It was unimaginable. When she was eight years old, Lily Decker somehow survived the auto accident that killed her parents and sister, but neither her emotionally distant aunt nor her all-too-attentive uncle could ease her grief. Dancing proves to be Lily’s only solace, and eventually she receives a “scholarship” to a local dance academy—courtesy of a mysterious benefactor. Grown and ready to leave home for good, Lily changes her name to Ruby Wilde and heads to Las Vegas to be a troupe dancer, but her sensual beauty and voluptuous figure land her work instead as a showgirl performing everywhere from Les Folies Bergere at the Tropicana to the Stardust’s Lido de Paris. Wearing costumes dripping with feathers and rhinestones, five-inch heels, and sky-high headdresses, Ruby may have all the looks of a Sin City success story, but she still must learn to navigate the world of men—and figure out what real love looks like. With her uncanny knack for understanding the hidden lives of women, Elizabeth J. Church captures both the iconic extravagance of an era and the bravery of a young woman who dances through her sadness to find connection, freedom, and, most important, herself.