Bachelor Girl

NOW AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

"Bachelor Girl plunges the reader deep into life during the Jazz Age...and the revealing of other secrets and confessions will keep readers up all night looking for answers." -Booklist (starred review)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Orphan #8 comes a fresh and intimate novel in the vein of Lilac Girls and The Alice Network about the destructive power of secrets and the redemptive power of love-inspired by the true story of Jacob Ruppert, the millionaire owner of the New York Yankees, and his mysterious bequest in 1939 to an unknown actress, Helen Winthrope Weyant.

When the owner of the New York Yankees baseball team, Colonel Jacob Ruppert, takes Helen Winthrope, a young actress, under his wing, she thinks it's because of his guilt over her father's accidental death-and so does Albert Kramer, Ruppert's handsome personal secretary. Helen and Albert develop a deepening bond the closer they become to Ruppert, an eccentric millionaire who demands their loyalty in return for his lavish generosity.

New York in the Jazz Age is filled with possibilities, especially for the young and single. Yet even as Helen embraces being a "bachelor girl"-a working woman living on her own terms-she finds herself falling in love with Albert, even after he confesses his darkest secret. When Ruppert dies, rumors swirl about his connection to Helen after the stunning revelation that he has left her the bulk of his fortune, which includes Yankee Stadium. But it is only when Ruppert's own secrets are finally revealed that Helen and Albert will be forced to confront the truth about their relationship to him-and to each other.

Inspired by factual events that gripped New York City in its heyday, Bachelor Girl is a hidden history gem about family, identity, and love in all its shapes and colors.

About the author

Kim van Alkemade is the author of the historical novels Orphan #8 and Bachelor Girl. Her creative nonfiction essays have appeared in literary journals including Alaska Quarterly Review, CutBank, and So To Speak. Born in New York City, she earned a BA in English and history from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and an MA and PhD in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a Professor in the English Department at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches writing.

Summary

NOW AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Bachelor Girl plunges the reader deep into life during the Jazz Age…and the revealing of other secrets and confessions will keep readers up all night looking for answers.” —Booklist (starred review)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Orphan #8 comes a fresh and intimate novel in the vein of Lilac Girls and The Alice Network about the destructive power of secrets and the redemptive power of love—inspired by the true story of Jacob Ruppert, the millionaire owner of the New York Yankees, and his mysterious bequest in 1939 to an unknown actress, Helen Winthrope Weyant.

When the owner of the New York Yankees baseball team, Colonel Jacob Ruppert, takes Helen Winthrope, a young actress, under his wing, she thinks it’s because of his guilt over her father’s accidental death—and so does Albert Kramer, Ruppert’s handsome personal secretary. Helen and Albert develop a deepening bond the closer they become to Ruppert, an eccentric millionaire who demands their loyalty in return for his lavish generosity.

New York in the Jazz Age is filled with possibilities, especially for the young and single. Yet even as Helen embraces being a “bachelor girl”—a working woman living on her own terms—she finds herself falling in love with Albert, even after he confesses his darkest secret. When Ruppert dies, rumors swirl about his connection to Helen after the stunning revelation that he has left her the bulk of his fortune, which includes Yankee Stadium. But it is only when Ruppert’s own secrets are finally revealed that Helen and Albert will be forced to confront the truth about their relationship to him—and to each other.

Inspired by factual events that gripped New York City in its heyday, Bachelor Girl is a hidden history gem about family, identity, and love in all its shapes and colors.

Additional text

Praise for Orphan #8:

“Kim van Alkemade has moxie. In her provocative novel, family is saturated with betrayal, care is interrupted by ambition and desire, and the past is intimately explored, invoking the abandoned child in all of us. Orphan # 8 brims with complicated passions and pitch-perfect historical details. A riveting, memorable debut.” —Catherine Zobal Dent, author of Unfinished Stories of Girls

“Inspired by actual events, van Alkemade crafts a powerful story of festering vengeance and redemption that touches readers on many levels. Alkemade has managed to incorporate many emotions into her thoughtful debut, emotions that linger long after the last page is turned.” —RT Book Reviews

“This book is utterly unputdownable. At once atmospheric, disturbing and absolutely engrossing, it poses a host of moral questions; I fully anticipate that it will become popular with book clubs.” —Historical Novels Review

“…van Alkemade succeeds in bringing to light a fascinating and little-known chapter of history...she vividly chronicles her heroine’s pain, resilience and capacity to be honest with those who loved her, with those who betrayed her, and ultimately with herself.” —Lillith Magazine

“A sure book club pick and a strong debut.” —Lambda Literary Review

"Even non-aficionados of historical fiction will find much to savor in this remarkable novel. Its themes and artistry will linger in reader memory. Orphan #8 is a remarkable work, well rooted in some little-known history... a broad landscape of issues, superbly rendered." —GLBT Reviews, American Library Association's LGBT Round Table
 

Report

From the first paragraphs, BACHELOR GIRL plunges the reader deep into life during the Jazz Age... [T]he mystery of Ruppert's largesse and the slow revealing of other secrets and confessions will keep readers up all night looking for answers alongside Winthrope and Kramer. Booklist, starred review

Product details

• Authors: Kim Van Alkemade, Alkemade Kim van
• Publisher: Touchstone USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 06.03.2018
• EAN: 9781501173349
• ISBN: 978-1-5011-7334-9
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / Historical / General, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Historical fiction, FICTION / Literary, Fiction: general and literary