Author photo
© John MacLean

Victorian-miss-meets-American-ninja romance. He doesn't wear a velvet smoking jacket, believe me!

Publication: Avon Books 1991;
ISBN 0-380-76131-9; to be re-issued with new cover in March 2005

Setting: England, Hawaii, Victorian period

Mascot Animal: Shark

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Laura's Comment (this will be published as a Letter from the Author in the new re-issue):

When I'm asked which of my books is my personal favorite, I always answer that it's The Shadow and the Star. I began to write it because I was haunted by the image of a young boy left alone in vile circumstances in my earlier book, The Hidden Heart . So I set out to give Samuel a better future, and make him a hero in his own right. Without really realizing it, I turned to my own heritage as the truest means to heal his anguish, creating a heroine in Leda who embodied the steadfast, kind and courageous ladies who influenced my own life as I grew up--the circle of my grandmother and aunts and their friends in a small Texas town. Proper, generous, proud; sure of what was right and what was wrong, they gave me a foundation, a place to stand in life. Perhaps they were as shocked by a crooked hem as by a crooked banker, but there was always a pie or a boiled custard going out the door for an ill neighbor. They represent a feminine community and a standard that has quietly sustained civilization for centuries, unnoticed and unreported in newspapers and history books. Not all strength is obvious. Sometimes the most important gestures aren't made on a grand stage. In small everyday acts of courage, self-respect, and concern for others, these women taught me that a straight hem means something--it means you cared enough do it right, so that you could be proud of yourself even if no one else took notice.

The Shadow and the Star is, in part, my celebration of this hidden culture among women and its quiet power to mend the cracks in our lives. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Recognition: New York Times Best Seller List

Finalist--Golden Choice Award for Best Romance of 1991, Romance Writers of America

Finalist-1992 Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Historical

Finalist-Favorite Book of 1997, Romance Writers of America

Laura's Fave Review of The Shadow and the Star:

"There is such harmony in the way Kinsale blends her characters and plots. She draws out the essence of a character then wraps that essence in a story line that is so appropriate it is difficult to hypothesize that there may have been a better way to showcase that character. This work is a perfect example of that harmony."

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