Waiting on Wednesday - The Museum Of Lost Quilts

 

'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about.  I used to do this in the past and am making it a priority to do again.  Seriously, who among us doesn't have a book or two or twenty that we are excited about reading?  Plus, it lets us 'spread the word' about authors and series that we personally enjoy.  

This week's highlight is by an author that has been writing for a long time.  Jennifer Chiaverini started her 'Elm Creek Quilt' series back in 1999 and her latest book in the series, featured here, is the 22nd.  I've read all the previous books, but it has been 5 years since the previous book was published and the one before that one was 7 years before that.  She's been writing standalone historical fiction novels that are about women and those have been very successful.  I loved the whole 'Elm Creek' series and so I'm delighted to see a new entry.  Will it be the last?  Perhaps, but a visit with the 'Elm Creek' gang will be so welcome.  Have you read any books by this author? 

The Museum of Lost Quilts

by Jennifer Chiaverini

Publication Date:  April 30th

Jennifer Chiaverini’s beloved and bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series returns with the first Elm Creek Quilts novel since 2019’s The Christmas Boutique.

Summer Sullivan, the youngest founding member of Elm Creek Quilts, has spent the last two years pursuing a master’s degree in history at the University of Chicago. Her unexpected return home to the celebrated quilter’s retreat is met with delight but also concern from her mother, Gwen; her best friend, Sarah; master quilter Sylvia; and her other colleagues—and rightly so. Stymied by writer’s block, Summer hasn’t finished her thesis, and she can’t graduate until she does.

Elm Creek Manor offers respite while Summer struggles to meet her extended deadline. She finds welcome distraction in organizing an exhibit of antique quilts as a fundraiser to renovate Union Hall, the 1863 Greek Revival headquarters of the Waterford Historical Society. But Summer’s research uncovers startling facts about Waterford’s past, prompting unsettling questions about racism, economic injustice, and political corruption within their community, past and present.

As Summer’s work progresses, quilt lovers and history buffs praise the growing collection, but affronted local leaders demand that she remove all references to Waterford’s troubled history. As controversy threatens the exhibit’s success, Summer fears that her pursuit of the truth might cost the Waterford Historical Society their last chance to save Union Hall. Her only hope is to rally the quilting community to her cause.

The Museum of Lost Quilts is a warm and deeply moving story about the power of collective memory. With every fascinating quilt she studies, Summer finds her passion for history renewed—and discovers a promising new future for herself.