Hope Is the Thing with Feathers

Cora’s husband is dying, and in their last moments together, she promises to finish her memoir for their daughter, Jewell. When she finds the memoir after her parents’ deaths, Cora’s story unfolds, beginning with her father’s abandonment of the family, which changes her life forever. Cora’s forced to leave for work in 1890s Philadelphia, where she struggles with poverty while trying to support her family. Determined to save herself and her mother from destitution, she enters the world of an upscale brothel only to be scorned by family and society. Having found support and family among society’s outcasts, she fights for the betterment of poor women while achieving financial success. And though she learns to satisfy clients’ desires, she never experiences passion, desire, or even a kiss until one man comes into her life. But falling in love opens old wounds, challenging her heart‍—‍can she ever trust again?