Sara Hoffman
It’s 1921, and 26-year-old Jules Greer is well on her way to spinsterhood. She yearns for the romance and excitement she finds in her Zane Grey novels, but with no boyfriend or prospects in her small town of Garden City, Kansas, Jules fears she’ll spend the rest of her days caring for her sick brother, cleaning her best friend’s boardinghouse, and playing the piano at other people’s weddings. So when a fortune-teller predicts she’ll have one chance to escape a life of drudgery, Jules decides to take it—even if it does come in the form of a handsome scoundrel who’s bound to love her then leave her. This debut novel by journalist Sara Hoffman, based on a true story, brings the Roaring ‘20s in Middle America to life. She immerses us in a time and place where merriment and morality collided, where women and people of color began pushing against their social confines, and where silent film stars and Babe Ruth reigned. Who was Baby Ruth, anyway, and what happened to her? This wry, tender tale will take you through many engaging twists and turns on its way to the surprising answers.
