History Through Stories: Historical Fiction Authors Natasha Lester and Melanie Benjamin at BHB

Name: History Through Stories: Historical Fiction Authors Natasha Lester and Melanie Benjamin at BHB
Start: 2026-06-06T16:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-06-06T18:30:00-05:00
Location: 5915 6th Ave A, Kenosha, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53140

Schedule

Sat Jun 06 2026 at 04:00 pm to 06:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

5915 6th Ave A, Kenosha, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53140 | Kenosha, WI

Join us at Blue House Books on Saturday, June 6th, at 4 p.m. for a historic literary event! Marcia Siehr, Head of Outreach, Programs, and Education at the Kenosha Public Library, will moderate a discussion featuring authors Melanie Benjamin ("The Windsor") and Natasha Lester ("The Chateau on Sunset").
The evening kicks off at 4 p.m., featuring mocktails from The Sipster (cash bar) and time to mingle with fellow readers! The panel discussion with our guest authors begins at 4:30 p.m.
The group will chat about the research behind writing historical fiction and character inspiration, and much more! There will also be time for audience Q&A and a book signing with the authors.
This event requires a $5 reservation deposit. Get all the details here: https://withfriends.co/event/27807621

ABOUT THE WINDSOR AFFAIR:
A scandalous affair. A power struggle for the throne. A sensational rivalry between an English queen and an American social climber. In this electrifying novel, the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" tells the story of the Abdication of Edward VIII—and the two women at the center of it all.
“As deliciously dishy as an English cream tea and the royal gossip whispered over it!”—Kate Quinn, author of "The Astral Library"
Feuding Windsor brothers and their wives—some things, it seems, never change. "The Windsor Affair" recreates the cataclysmic events that nearly toppled the monarchy and incited the power struggle between Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and Wallis Simpson. Told from the perspective of both women, the novel propels readers into the fabulous world of the debonair Prince of Wales, café society of the 1930s, and the glittering private lives of the Windsors. The first novel to be dedicated to this infamous rivalry, "The Windsor Affair" brings us all the gossip and intrigue between the two very different—yet perhaps more similar than they would admit—wives of royals.
As Queen, Elizabeth would become the symbol of British pluck and courage during World War II and remain a British institution the rest of her long life. Wallis would be forever forced to enact the World’s Greatest Love Story even after it sours, as she goes from being admired to vilified and, ultimately, pitied. Against the backdrop of the Abdication Crisis, World War II, coronations, funerals, births, and deaths, these two women maintain a biting, sharp-tongued feud—until age and the long arm of history bring about a kind of understanding. For the last communication between these bitter rivals was a simple, surprising message: “In friendship, Elizabeth.”

ABOUT MELANIE BENJAMIN:
Melanie Benjamin is a prize-winning novelist and "New York Times" bestselling author of "California Golden", "The Children’s Blizzard", "Mistress of the Ritz", "The Girls in the Picture", "The Swans of Fifth Avenue", "The Aviator's Wife", "The Autobiography of Mrs.Tom Thumb", and "Alice I Have Been".

ABOUT THE CHATEAU ON SUNSET:
A sheltered young woman living at the Chateau Marmont falls under the spell of a scandalous, secretive man as all of Hollywood’s glamour swirls around her—a stunning feminist reimagining of "Jane Eyre" from the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Paris Seamstress".
“A clever, compelling midcentury Gothic . . . a can’t-miss read for the madwoman in all of us.”—Layne Fargo, bestselling author of "The Favorites".
In 1957, newly orphaned Aria Jones is sent to live with her aunt, a fading star who hides away in Hollywood’s infamous Chateau Marmont. There, two aspiring actresses, Calliope and Flitter, take the grieving Aria under their wing.
But the Marmont isn’t meant for small girls with big hearts, and Aria’s first few nights reveal an insidious secret that continues to haunt her as she grows up in the hotel’s halls, where the bright lights of Hollywood cast even darker shadows. If Aria can just stay invisible and invite no trouble as she saves money, then she can leave the Marmont and live life on her own terms—alone but free.
Her carefully laid plans fall apart when the hotel is bought by Theo Winchester, a reclusive rock star turned unexpected caretaker of his daughter, Adele, and unlike any man Aria has met before. To earn the last bit of money she needs to escape, Aria becomes Adele’s tutor, which brings Aria closer to Theo and ignites a passion she never expected.
Suddenly, Aria finds herself wondering if she still wants to remain invisible—and if inviting trouble is a risk, she’s willing to take to pursue what she truly desires.

ABOUT NATASHA LESTER:
Natasha Lester is the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Paris Seamstress", "The Paris Orphan", and "The Paris Secret", and a former marketing executive for L’Oréal. Her novels have been international bestsellers and are translated into twenty-one different languages and published all around the world. When she’s not writing, she loves collecting vintage fashion, practicing the art of fashion illustration, and traveling the world. Natasha lives with her husband and three children in Perth, Western Australia.