On one hand, for those of us who write historical fiction, the number of stories and historical figures available for inspiration is nearly infinite. On the other hand, it’s inevitable that certain inspirations strike a spark in multiple authors—and it’s fascinating to see how each of us takes that spark and runs with it in a slightly different direction. My latest novel WOMAN 99, for example (out in paperback tomorrow! Whee!), was initially inspired by Nellie Bly’s undercover adventures in a notorious insane asylum, Blackwell’s Island in New York.

Today’s #read99women author, Kate Braithwaite, was also inspired by Nellie’s spell of feigned madness, incorporating that inspiration into her novel THE GIRL PUZZLE.

Kate Braithwaite grew up in Edinburgh and has lived in various parts of England, Canada and now Pennsylvania. She’s the author of three fact-based historical novels – so far! The first two are set in 17th century Paris and London respectively: Charlatan (Fireship, 2016) and The Road to Newgate (Crooked Cat, 2018). The Girl Puzzle, a novel of Nellie Bly, (Crooked Cat in 2019) takes place in late 19th and early 20th century New York City.

Kate’s #read99women recommendation is a book of short stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman, ALMOST FAMOUS WOMEN. Each of the 13 stories in the book is inspired by a real-life woman or group of women from history, from Oscar Wilde’s niece Dolly to conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton. “If you love books that celebrate real women, bringing their lost history to light, warts and all,” she says, “then this collection is for you.” Read the rest of Kate’s recommendation here.

(The funny thing is, as Kate and I discovered as we were putting this post together, only one other person has written a review of ALMOST FAMOUS WOMEN on BookBub. Guess who?)

For more on Kate’s books and other recommendations, follow her on BookBub here.