Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelts new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.
The leader, and soon Alices greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman whos never asked a mans permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
What happens to themand to the men they lovebecomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, theyre committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.
Based on a true story rooted in Americas past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classica richly rewarding novel of womens friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.
