Belle Haven Finishing School: A Novel

Summary

From the author of The Tobacco Wives comes an intergenerational tale about a Southern finishing school set in 1951 and 1987, inspired by the true story of a decades-old cover-up that binds two women together, thirty years apart.

“An eye-opening tale that will pull on your heartstrings. Loosely inspired by a real-life cover-up, the fictional story of Birdie and Charlotte examines ambition and ethics while also exploring the restorative power of loyalty, family, and friendship.” —Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake and Good Dirt

In 1951, Belle Haven Finishing School offers orphan girls the promise of a brighter future. For Birdie and her cousin Rue, it’s a chance to become proper ladies, to dream beyond their small world, and change the trajectory of their lives. But as Birdie navigates the school’s unusual rules and glamorous, yet unsettling, atmosphere, she begins to question the true intentions behind its polished facade—and what it might mean for her and Rue.

In 1987, Charlotte Davenport, a burgeoning New York Times reporter who is hungry to cover stories beyond the ladies’ lifestyle pages, discovers a curious connection between the finishing school and an academic study that was never published. Charlotte is convinced a cover-up took place to protect the prominent university professor behind the unethical experiment. As Charlotte pieces together the past, she finds herself drawn into a mystery that touches her own life in unexpected ways.

Dramatic, deeply human, emotionally satisfying, and written with vivid historical details, Belle Haven Finishing School is a heartfelt tale of ambition, the power of female connection, and the courage to seek the truth.