The third TODAY Book Club pick is "Under the Wide and Starry Sky," the second novel by Nancy Horan, the celebrated author of "Loving Frank." Share your thoughts about Horan's windswept romance by joining the TODAY Book Club community. RSVP to the Google Hangout with Nancy Horan, happening Thursday March 6 at 11 a.m. ET., follow @TODAYsBooks, and stay up to date with the TODAY Book Club newsletter.
Horan is well versed in historical fiction, her books concentrating on the private lives and relationships of luminaries like Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Louis Stevenson. Given her passions for literature and history, we asked Horan to cite some of her favorite books. Here's what she had to say.
There are so many books I have admired that it’s hard to pull just a couple for a list, but here is a try:
'The House of Mirth'
by Edith Wharton
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)
A powerful portrait of a woman in 1890s New York who is trapped by the values and conventions of her time.
'Housekeeping'
by Marilynne Robinson
(Picador)
A beautifully written book about two orphaned sisters who are raised by a series of relatives and eventually cared for by their eccentric Aunt Silvie. Very moving.
'Deadwood'
by Pete Dexter
(Vintage)
Set in the Wild West. The author does not prettify his raw and hilarious characters, who include Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. A great read!
'Mrs. Dalloway'
by Virginia Woolf
(Martino Fine)
explores the internal life of a woman who chose a financially safe marriage instead of passion in her youth. We meet her in later life as she deals with her choices.
Follow up "Mrs. Dalloway" with....
'The Hours'
by Michael Cunningham
(Picador)
This book features three different women from different decades of the 20th century — one of whom is Virginia Woolf, who is just setting out to write "Mrs. Dalloway." A wonderful read.
In terms of the oeuvre of Robert Louis Stevenson, one of the central characters in "Under the Wide and Starry Sky," Horan cites:
Fiction:
"Treasure Island"
"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
"Kidnapped"
"David Balfour"
"Island Nights Entertainment"
Non-Fiction:
"Amateur Emigrant"
"Across the Plains"
"On Falling in Love"
"The Lantern Bearers"
"A Chapter on Dreams"
Finally, from her protagonist Fanny Stevenson, her favorite is "The Cruise of the Janet Nichol."
More:
Excerpt: Read about Robert Louis Stevenson's romance in 'Under the Wide and Starry Sky'
Literary loves (and lusts): 15 of history's most amorous authors