Two women. A history of witchcraft. And a deep-rooted female power that sings across the centuries. Once there was a young woman from a well-to-do New England family who never quite fit with the drawing rooms and parlors of her kin. Called instead to the tangled woods and wild cliffs surrounding her family’s estate, Margaret Harlowe grew both stranger and more beautiful as she cultivated her uncanny power. Soon, whispers of “witch” dogged her footsteps, and Margaret’s power began to wind itself with the tendrils of something darker. One hundred and fifty years later, Augusta Podos takes a dream job at Harlowe House, the historic home of a wealthy New England family that has been turned into a small museum in Tynemouth, Massachusetts. When Augusta stumbles across an oblique reference to a daughter of the Harlowes who has nearly been expunged from the historical record, the mystery is too intriguing to ignore. But as she digs deeper, something sinister unfurls from its sleep, a dark power that binds one woman to the other across lines of blood and time. If Augusta can’t resist its allure, everything she knows and loves—including her very life—could be lost forever. Don't miss Hester Fox's next novel, THE BOOK OF THORNS, where two sisters who never knew the other existed meet on opposite sides during the Napoleonic Wars and must use the magic of flowers to solve the mystery of their mother’s death—while surviving the war raging around them... Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox: The Last Heir to Blackwood Library The Witch of Willow Hall The Widow of Pale Harbor The Orphan of Cemetery Hill

Author and slow cooker expert Kathy Hester, founder of the blog Healthy Slow Cooking (www.healthyslowcooking.com), will show you how simple it is to 1.) Prep your ingredients the night before, in just a few minutes' time, and 2.) Assemble everything in the slow cooker in the morning, right before you head to work. --Publisher.

Julie's grandmother deflates many of her husband's tall tales about their journey from Russia to America and their life on Hester Street.

DIV Garbanzo. Cannellini. Fava. Calypso. Edamame. Adzuki. It’s true: beans have the coolest names ever. But besides that, they’re also one of nature’s most perfect foods. Packed with protein, nutrients, and flavor, you might even call them a vegan’s #1 best friend (don’t worry, we won’t tell the trail mix, veggies, or French fries!). But with so much versatility and variety, where does one begin? Right inside these very pages, that’s where. In The Great Vegan Bean Book, author Kathy Hester primes you on everything you need to know about the best way to cook—and eat!—every bean you’ve ever seen (and a few you probably haven’t). From soaking times, to cooking times, to what to purée, to what to sauté, you’ll be dancing delicious circles around those legumes in no time. Not only that, but you’ll also get to try your hand—or is it your mouth?—at some of the tastiest, most innovative bean recipes in this lentil-filled land. From beanalicious burritos, to pretty-pea curry, to legume-laced blondies, you’ll be partying protein-style, every meal of the day! /div

Named a Most Anticipated Book for Fall 2022 by Goodreads • Washington Post • New York Post • BuzzFeed • PopSugar • Business Insider • An October 2022 Indie Next List Pick • An October 2022 LibraryReads Pick "A hauntingly beautiful––and imagined––origin story to The Scarlet Letter." ––People WHO IS THE REAL HESTER PRYNNE? Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible. When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which? In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Laurie Lico Albanese's Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.

Hester courageously hangs on to her house when it is swept downriver during a flood.