Karla Smart-Morstad

Eleanore of Avignon is superbly written. The metaphors and similes are bright and refreshing. Sensory details abound, and images pull us into nature and the architecture of Avignon in 1347--1348. Characters develop and change, and the plot brings well-supported yet genuine surprises. The historical characters are well researched and further addressed in the afterwards. I will be happy to reread Elizabeth DeLozier's 2024 novel with a friend who has just ordered her copy.

I was amazed to learn how much of the language and writing skill of Richard Goodwin shape policy for the Great Society. Doris Kearns Goodwin threads her husband's experiences and contributions to JFK and LBJ's White Houses with her own memories in LBJ's White House. Young people, they each had influence. Their present relationship lovingly undergirds the events of the '60s while reflecting on Richard's boxes of papers and memorabilia.