Dreamers of the Day: A Novel
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Contributors
Published
Books on Tape , 2008.
Status
Available from Libby/OverDrive

Available Platforms

Libby/OverDrive
Titles may be read via Libby/OverDrive. Libby/OverDrive is a free app that allows users to borrow and read digital media from their local library, including ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. Users can access Libby/OverDrive through the Libby/OverDrive app or online. The app is available for Android and iOS devices.

Description

“I suppose I ought to warn you at the outset that my present circumstances are puzzling, even to me. Nevertheless, I am sure of this much: My little story has become your history. You won’t really understand your times until you understand mine.”So begins the account of Agnes Shanklin, the charmingly diffident narrator of Mary Doria Russell’s compelling new novel, Dreamers of the Day. And what is Miss Shanklin’s “little story?” Nothing less than the creation of the modern Middle East at the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference, where Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence, and Lady Gertrude Bell met to decide the fate of the Arab world–and of our own.A forty-year-old schoolteacher from Ohio still reeling from the tragedies of the Great War and the influenza epidemic, Agnes has come into a modest inheritance that allows her to take the trip of a lifetime to Egypt and the Holy Land. Arriving at the Semiramis Hotel just as the Peace Conference convenes, Agnes, with her plainspoken American opinions–and a small, noisy dachshund named Rosie–enters into the company of the historic luminaries who will, in the space of a few days at a hotel in Cairo, invent the nations of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. Neither a pawn nor a participant at the conference, Agnes is ostensibly insignificant, and that makes her a welcome sounding board for Churchill, Lawrence, and Bell. It also makes her unexpectedly attractive to the charismatic German spy Karl Weilbacher. As Agnes observes the tumultuous inner workings of nation-building, she is drawn more and more deeply into geopolitical intrigue and toward a personal awakening. With prose as graceful and effortless as a seductive float down the Nile, Mary Doria Russell illuminates the long, rich history of the Middle East with a story that brilliantly elucidates today’s headlines. As enlightening as it is entertaining, Dreamers of the Day is a memorable, passionate, gorgeously written novel.

More Details

Format
eAudiobook
Edition
Unabridged
Street Date
03/25/2008
Language
English
ISBN
9781415945766

Discover More

Excerpt

Loading Excerpt...

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors evocative, strong sense of place, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "historical fiction"; the subjects "love," "independence," and "world war i home front"; and characters that are "likeable characters" and "well-developed characters."
These books have the appeal factors richly detailed, evocative, and first person narratives, and they have the theme "coping with death"; the genre "historical fiction"; the subjects "love," "romantic love," and "loss"; and characters that are "likeable characters" and "well-developed characters."
These books have the appeal factors richly detailed, evocative, and strong sense of place.
These books have the appeal factors evocative and first person narratives, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; the subjects "self-discovery" and "southwest asia and north africa (middle east) history"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters."
Though The Idiot is a contemporary college novel while Dreamers of the Day is set post-World War I, both leisurely, coming-of-age tales star likable, intelligent women joyfully embracing the broadening effects and unexpected delights of travel and independence. -- Melissa Gray
These books have the appeal factors richly detailed, evocative, and first person narratives, and they have the theme "coping with death"; the genres "historical fiction" and "literary fiction"; the subject "loss"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These books have the appeal factors richly detailed, evocative, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "historical fiction"; the subject "postwar life"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These books have the appeal factors evocative, and they have the theme "coping with death"; the genre "historical fiction"; the subjects "love" and "loss"; and characters that are "likeable characters" and "well-developed characters."
These books have the appeal factors evocative, strong sense of place, and first person narratives, and they have the themes "coping with death" and "inspired by real events"; the genre "historical fiction"; and the subjects "self-discovery," "life change events," and "loss."
These books have the genre "historical fiction"; and the subjects "spies," "southwest asia and north africa (middle east) history," and "british people in southwest asia and north africa (middle east)."
These books have the appeal factors richly detailed, evocative, and sweeping, and they have the genre "historical fiction"; and the subject "young women."
These books have the genre "historical fiction"; the subjects "women teachers," "self-discovery," and "life change events"; and characters that are "likeable characters" and "well-developed characters."

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Few authors write both historical fiction and science fiction effectively, but both Mary Doria Russell and Michael Flynn do, and readers will enjoy their books for similar reasons: their well-wrought settings, empathetic characters (even the aliens and the "other"), and their straightforward prose characterized by vivid description and plot-moving dialog. -- Katherine Johnson
These authors both use traditional science-fiction elements to explore philosophical territory involving spiritual debates involving science and religion, personal loss and recovery, and the meaning of human existence. Their character-driven stories ground fantastic elements with compelling human drama. -- Derek Keyser
These authors' character driven and intricately plotted science fiction deals with intimate psychological exploration, often touching on themes of religion and torture. Mary Doria Russell focuses more on communication failures and relationships, and Susan Matthews on identity and ethical dilemmas. Both create fascinating characters placed in complex situations. -- Melissa Gray
Larry McMurtry effectively uses vivid and detailed descriptions of the setting and time period to bring to life the hardships his characters endure, primarily set in the American West. The lively dialogue and complex characterizations will appeal to Mary Doria Russell's fans. -- Halle Carlson
Although Walter M. Miller is primarily known for one science fiction novel and Mary Doria Russell has written only two science fiction novels in a long varied career, these thought-provoking works represent two of the most serious, reflective attempts to address religion, and specifically Catholicism, in science fiction. -- Michael Shumate
John Crowley and Mary Doria Russell take interesting historical themes and work them into both science fiction and historical fiction that builds on well-wrought settings, empathetic characters, and straightforward prose characterized by vivid, atmospheric description and plot-moving dialog. -- Katherine Johnson
Much of these authors' moving and richly detailed historical fiction features complex characters struggling to navigate volatile and often violent situations, frequently in the Old West. Their novels also explore themes of loyalty and the clash of cultures, while vividly evoking historic settings. These authors tell compelling coming-of-age stories. -- Melissa Gray
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, evocative, and sweeping, and they have the genres "literary fiction" and "biographical fiction"; the subject "change (psychology)"; and characters that are "complex characters," "flawed characters," and "sympathetic characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, strong sense of place, and unconventional, and they have the genres "social science fiction" and "westerns"; the subjects "change (psychology)" and "frontier and pioneer life"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, reflective, and strong sense of place, and they have the genres "literary fiction" and "social science fiction"; the subjects "near future," "dystopias," and "utopias"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, bleak, and stylistically complex, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; the subjects "near future" and "post-apocalypse"; and characters that are "complex characters," "flawed characters," and "sympathetic characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors bleak, and they have the genres "social science fiction" and "westerns"; and the subjects "life on other planets," "space flight," and "aliens."

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Russell, M. D., & Lee, A. M. (2008). Dreamers of the Day: A Novel (Unabridged). Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Russell, Mary Doria and Ann Marie Lee. 2008. Dreamers of the Day: A Novel. Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Russell, Mary Doria and Ann Marie Lee. Dreamers of the Day: A Novel Books on Tape, 2008.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Russell, M. D. and Lee, A. M. (2008). Dreamers of the day: a novel. Unabridged Books on Tape.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Russell, Mary Doria, and Ann Marie Lee. Dreamers of the Day: A Novel Unabridged, Books on Tape, 2008.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

Copy Details

CollectionOwnedAvailableNumber of Holds
Libby110

Staff View

Loading Staff View.