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Adult Books - Fiction - General Fiction
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Dreamers of the Day.
Russell, Mary Doria (author).
Mar. 2008. 272p. Random, hardcover, $25.95 (1-4000-6471-6).
REVIEW.
First published February 1, 2008 (Booklist).
On the heels of a family tragedy precipitated by the influenza epidemic of 1919, middle-aged spinster schoolteacher Agnes Shanklin inherits enough money to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Traveling to Egypt, she settles in at the Semiramis Hotel, where she meets and becomes involved with a number of members of the Cairo Peace Conference, including T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), Winston Churchill, and Lady Gertrude Bell. As these luminaries begin to carve up the Middle East, the unassuming Agnes wins the confidence of the conference attendees and attracts the attention of a dashing German spy. Narrated by Agnes from beyond the grave—a twist that is not revealed until the end of the book—this atmospheric entrée into a bygone time and place provides a first-person peek into the international political machinations that forged the contemporary Arab world. A natural for book-club discussions.
— Margaret Flanagan
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Features That Discuss This Work:
1. The Reading List : Best Adult Genre Fiction, 2009
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