by Joy Callaway
To my dawgs, some of my earliest friends—to GraceMarie Thomas Bartle, Liz Thornberry Moore, Megan McCarthy, and Rachel Darling, thank you for the laughter, the memories, the comfort of always belonging.
To Courtney Chatfield-Joyce, Hollie Hogan, Sanghee Ku, and Joy Haser, thank you for the gift of forever friendship, instant understanding, and remembrances that will keep us cracking up always. I’m so thankful we get to hold each other’s hands through every stage of life. You’ve all grown more beautiful with each step.
To Katie McLaughlin, Mary Brooks, Carolyn Wright, Alice Cuviello, Jessica Shanks, Amanda Shanks, Megan Fair, Ronni Bishop, Julie Cribb, thank you for being there, for being the picture of true friendship.
To my writing sorority—Sarah Henning, Renee Ahdieh, Cheyenne Campbell, Liz Penney, Alison Bliss, Sam Bohrman, Bethany Chase, Anna Rollins, Kim Wright, Marybeth Whalen, and Erika Marks—thank you for the time, the sharpening, the friendship. I love and appreciate you more than you know.
To the sisters of Alpha Xi Delta’s Gamma Beta chapter, thank you for your example of what a sorority should be and for emphasizing the importance of remembering the remarkable women who started it all.
To the women who make my stories come to life, the women whose smarts and determination and dreams inspire—to my brilliant, lovely agent, Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, thank you for always believing in me and for your perfect insights into all of my works. And to my editor, the exceptionally talented Emily Griffin, thank you for your thoughtfulness, your perfect questions, and your support. I’m so very proud of what this book has become.
To the extraordinary minds at Harper—Mary Sasso, Amy Baker, Abigail Novak, Paul Florez-Taylor, and Sarah Brody—thank you for your hard work, friendship, and time.
Lastly, to my little family—to my children, Alevia and John, you are the best gifts of my life. And to my husband, John, for your love, your humor, and your unwavering support. Thank you for making this journey everything I’d dreamed. I love you.
About the Author
Joy Callaway lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family. She is the author of The Fifth Avenue Artists Society.
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Advance Praise for Secret Sisters
“Secret Sisters is a fascinating historical novel about one young woman’s effort to establish the first women’s fraternity at her college in 1881, while also trying to penetrate the male dominated physicians’ program where she is the only female student. Beth Carrington’s crusade for equality is as apropos for these times as it was more than a century ago. You can’t help but root for this sharp-witted, courageous heroine to stake her claim in a world in which she knows she deserves to be.”
—Joanna Goodman, author of The Finishing School
“Full of vivid period detail and vibrant characters that readers will be rooting for, SECRET SISTERS is a loving testament to the power of sisterhood and to what is possible when women support and champion one another.”
—Alyssa Palombo, author of The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence
Praise for Joy Callaway's The Fifth Avenue Artists Society
“The creative sisterhood of Little Women, the social scandal of Edith Wharton, and the courtship mishaps of Jane Austen. . . . The Fifth Avenue Artists Society is a delightful, and at times touching, tale of Gilded Age society and creative ambition with an inspiring heroine.”
—New York Daily News
“[A] powerful debut. . . . Callaway paints an all too real portrait of the power of love to both create and destroy. . . . Readers will never see the twists around every corner. Beautifully written and solidly executed, Callaway’s novel will captivate historical and romance fans alike.”
—Library Journal
“Frst-time novelist Callaway melds romance, intrigue, and the pursuit of art together to create this engaging late-nineteenth-century story. Readers will enjoy cameos by Edith Wharton and Oscar Wilde, two writers who influenced her dramatization of the dangers of social climbing.”
—Booklist
“I very much enjoyed reading it. . . . Four stars.”
—LuxuryReading.com
“An engrossing snapshot of 1890s New York City. . . . Filled with well-drawn characters and lush historical texture, this tale sweeps you into the midst of writers, artists, and musicians, some of whom wrestle darker muses than others.”
—Jill Morrow, author of Newport
“With the warm glow and heavy drapery of Gilded Age salons as its inviting backdrop, Joy Callaway’s engaging period novel explores the timeless struggles women face in the creative and working world, and the price some are willing to pay to protect all they hold dear.”
—Erika Robuck, national bestselling author of Hemingway’s Girl
“Such an elegant and charming novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to reading more from this talented new writer.”
—Hazel Gaynor, author of A Memory of Violets
“The cadence of her prose is like a summer breeze, at once warm and invigorating, and the story of family loyalties, loss, and the artist’s world absorbing. Highly recommended!”
—Heather Webb, author of Rodin’s Lover
“In her promising debut novel, Joy Callaway spins an engrossing Gilded Age tale of a determined young woman’s pursuit of her art despite dreams thwarted, love betrayed, and shocking family secrets revealed.”
—Jennifer Chiaverini, author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker
“A marvelously detailed portrait of Gilded Age New York. . . . A delightful and memorable book.”
—Jennifer Robson, international bestselling author of Moonlight Over Paris
Also by Joy Callaway
The Fifth Avenue Artists Society
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
secret sisters. Copyright © 2017 by Joy Callaway. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
First Harper Paperbacks edition published 2017.
first edition
Cover design by Sarah Brody
Cover photographs, women from right to left: © Mark Owen / Trevillion Images; © Sandra Cunningham / Trevillion Images; © Malgorzata Maj / Arcangel; © Shutterstock (sky); © Getty Images (building)
Digital Edition July 2017 ISBN: 978-0-0-239165-0
Print ISBN: 978-0-06239164-3 (pbk.)
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