“An exciting and inspiring read that shows us how womanhood, courage and revolution are three words that often mean the same thing.”―NPR
At the end of the nineteenth century, three revolutionary women fight for freedom in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton's captivating new novel inspired by real-life events and the true story of a legendary Cuban woman—Evangelina Cisneros—who changed the course of history.
A feud rages in Gilded Age New York City between newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. When Grace Harrington lands a job at Hearst's newspaper in 1896, she’s caught in a cutthroat world where one scoop can make or break your career, but it’s a story emerging from Cuba that changes her life.
Unjustly imprisoned in a notorious Havana women's jail, eighteen-year-old Evangelina Cisneros dreams of a Cuba free from Spanish oppression. When Hearst learns of her plight and splashes her image on the front page of his paper, proclaiming her, "The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba," she becomes a rallying cry for American intervention in the battle for Cuban independence.
With the help of Marina Perez, a courier secretly working for the Cuban revolutionaries in Havana, Grace and Hearst's staff attempt to free Evangelina. But when Cuban civilians are forced into reconcentration camps and the explosion of the USS Maine propels the United States and Spain toward war, the three women must risk everything in their fight for freedom.
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Release date
May 4, 2021 -
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- ISBN: 9780593098882
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- ISBN: 9780593098882
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- ISBN: 9780593098882
- File size: 6177 KB
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- English
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Reviews
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Booklist
April 1, 2021
Cleeton's latest historical novel in her dazzling Cuba series, following The Last Train to Key West (2020), features another member of the P�rez family, Marina, and her struggles during the Spanish American War as she is disowned by her well-to-do family and separated from her beloved rebel husband. The ""Beautiful Girl"" of the title is based on the real-life Evangelina Cisneros, whose daring escape from a Havana prison was orchestrated by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst as part of his campaign to convince the U.S. to declare war on Spain. Hearst reporter Grace Harrington, a spunky Nelly Bly type, also pushes against the sexist constrictions of the time. These three women tell their stories in alternating sections set during 1896-98. Although raised in privilege, they lose status because of their integrity and refusal to bow to the expectations of their class. Ultimately, they find themselves struggling for survival while fighting for their country's independence and, in Grace's case, for her own. With a splash of romance and a healthy helping of history, this novel will be a hit for all collections.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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BookPage
Through her popular historical novels, bestselling author Chanel Cleeton offers a fresh glimpse into Cuba’s tumultuous past. Her latest, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, is set on the eve of the Spanish-American War, as the island country is ravaged by conflict between Cuban revolutionaries and the Spanish military. The story unfolds through the eyes of three women: Evangelina Cisneros, a beautiful socialite who finds herself in the infamous Recogidas prison after rebuffing the advances of a Spanish military official; Marina Perez, who along with her husband is aiding the revolutionaries while living in deplorable conditions at a reconcentration camp; and Grace Harrington, a cub reporter trying to make her mark at William Randolph Hearst’s New York newspaper. The women all come from wealthy families yet have chosen their own paths as they seek more than the comfort provided by their privilege. This is a recurring theme in Cleeton’s work: women turning their lives upside down to fight for what they believe in. For Evangelina and Marina, they’re fighting for the dream of a liberated Cuba. For Grace, it’s a career as a serious journalist in an era when few women (aside from Nellie Bly and Ida B. Wells) could imagine working for a newspaper. Their fates intersect when Hearst places Grace on the Cuba beat, reporting from the front lines. The heart of The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba is ostensibly Evangelina, who is the title character and based on a real person. And indeed, her story is fascinating. She was briefly the most famous woman in New York after a daring rescue landed her stateside to advocate for Cuban independence. But Cleeton’s examination of the state of journalism at the turn of the century is an equally compelling part of this engrossing book. The battle of Hearst versus Joseph Pulitzer for the biggest circulation is fascinating. Both of their newspapers used the discord in Cuba to bolster their sales and arguably influenced the conflict more than was appropriate for a supposedly neutral press. Cleeton delivers a sweeping story of love and courage, as well as a sobering reminder of the power and responsibility of the media.
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