Liberty Island - by Virginia Hume (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

From the bestselling author of Haven Point comes a sweeping historical novel about the generations of a family that spends summers in a seaside enclave on the rocky Maine coastline, for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Beatriz Williams, and Sarah Blake.

1900: 28-year-old Anna Bradley spends summer days supervising three little girls, including her niece, Julia Demarest, on an island off the coast of Haven Point, Maine. There, the girls run free, pretending to be all the things society says they cannot: pirates and rum runners, treasure hunters and Roughriders.

A college graduate determined to remain unmarried, Anna is eager to establish herself independently. Inspired by the summer antics of Julia and her friends, Anna writes "Liberty Island"--a depiction of girls unshackled from the domestic sphere--under a pen name. Young readers are rhapsodic, and it is a runaway bestseller, but it's not well received by the society matrons in her sister's circle, who believe that books for girls should prepare them for their future as wives and mothers.

With "Liberty Island" growing in popularity, Anna's secret is in peril, and when she's suddenly thrown together with the former object of her affections, she must rethink everything she thought she knew about independence, marriage, and her dreams for her future.

1922: 29-year-old Julia Demarest was once proud of her aunt's "Liberty Island" books. But as new, bohemian ideas take hold amongst her peers, she has come to see them as quaint, at best. In hindsight, her childhood summers on the island seem like more of an exile than a liberation, and her Boston Brahmin family--particularly her mother, Elizabeth Demarest--like relics of an unlamented past.

But in an effort to break free of expectations, she has ended up alienated from her family and heartbroken when a romantic entanglement with a free-spirited intellectual ends badly. When Elizabeth urgently calls her back to Haven Point, Julia is confronted by all the things she's been trying to escape, and forced to reconsider what truly brings her happiness.

A sweeping saga set in the first tumultuous decades of the twentieth century, Liberty Island is an ode to mothers and daughters, love, friendship, and the ways in which women define freedom on their own terms.

Review Quotes

"Hume has given readers a gem with her atmospheric and charming second novel, Liberty Island. Unfolding across the windswept shores of Maine, the posh society parties of Boston, the teeming streets of New York City and beyond, this follow-up multigenerational tale explores the intersection of family history and long-hidden secrets. With poignant twists of plot and lovingly crafted characters, this is an immersive read that will have you rooting for the strong women who drive this story." --Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of Finding Margaret Fuller

"Liberty Island is a triumph by one of America's most promising authors. Hume's writing is lovely, gentle, and tender. Reading Liberty Island, I felt transported to a simpler time, but also to one that had familiar problems--experimenting with new ideas, trying to fit in, dealing with bullies, coming to terms with your own stubbornness, or falling in love after resisting for too long. A vivid and emotionally true story, set in a beautiful part of the world, that will stay with me for years to come." --Dana Perino, #1 New York Times bestselling author and co-host of "The Five"

Praise for Haven Point
"You will love curling up with this one under your beach umbrella!" --Martha MacCallum, host of The Story

"Unfolding from WWII to the present day, this delicious, intricate novel is woven together with romance, tragedy, family secrets and breath-taking surprises. I will read Haven Point over and over. I'll give it to my friends. I'll read anything Virginia Hume ever writes." --Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Summer

"Haven Point checks all the boxes for a great summer read: generations of strong women, an idyllic but insular coastal town, and an emotionally-rich story that explores the peaks and valleys of life in all its complicated glory." --Jamie Brenner, nationally bestselling author of The Forever Summer

About the Author