Bøger af Penny Haw

Handling: Cäcilie Bertha Ringer er født ind i en tid, hvor kvinder sjældent får mulighed for at forfølge deres drømme. Men hun nægter at lade sig begrænse af samfundets forventninger til, hvad en kvinde kan og bør gøre. Som ung forelsker hun sig i den kompromisløse opfinder Carl Benz og hans drøm om at bygge en hesteløs vogn. Med sin medgift investeret i deres fælles drøm og sin tro på opfindelsen kæmper Bertha sammen med Carl mod omverdenen, der ikke tror på, at en vogn kan køre af sig selv. En dag truer Carls kompagnoner med at trække sig, og alt, hvad Carl og Bertha sammen har bygget, risikerer at smuldre. I al hemmelighed lægger Bertha derfor en plan, og hun vover opfindelsen, virksomheden og sit ægteskab, for hun ved, at verden har brug for den hesteløse vogn. ‘En kvinde i førersædet’ er en gribende historisk roman om mod, kærlighed og viljestyrke. Inspireret af Bertha Benz’ liv fortæller den historien om en kvinde, der alt for længe har stået i skyggen af sin mand, Carl Benz. Han hyldes som opfinderen af den moderne bil og det, der sidenhen er blevet til Mercedes-Benz, men uden Bertha var bilen aldrig blevet til det, vi kender den som i dag. Og måske havde vi endda aldrig hørt om den.Forfatteren: Penny Haw er en sydafrikansk forfatter. Hun skriver medrivende fortællinger inspireret af kvinder fra historien, som ikke har fået den anerkendelse, de fortjener. ’En kvinde i førersædet’ er hendes debut på dansk.

Historical fiction inspired by the story of Mary Leakey, who carved her own path to become one of the world's most distinguished paleoanthropologists.It's 1983 and seventeen-year-old Grace Clark has just lost her mother when she begrudgingly accompanies her estranged father to an archeological dig at Olduvai Gorge on the Serengeti plains of Tanzania. Here, seventy-year-old Mary Leakey enlists Grace to sort and pack her fifty years of work and memories.Their interaction reminds Mary how she pursued her ambitions of becoming an archeologist in the 1930s by sneaking into lectures and working on excavations. When well-known paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey commissions her to illustrate a book, she's not at all expecting to fall in love with the older married man. Mary then follows Louis to East Africa, where she falls in love for a second time, this time with the Olduvai Gorge, where her work defines her as a great scientist and allows her to step out of Louis's shadow.In time, Mary and Grace learn they are more alike than they thought, which eventually leads them to the secret that connects them. They also discover a mutual deep love for animals, and when Lisa, an injured cheetah, appears at camp, Mary and Grace work together to save her. On the morning Grace is due to leave, the girl-and the cheetah-are nowhere to be found, and it becomes a race against time to rescue Grace before the African bush claims her.From the acclaimed author of The Invincible Miss Cust and The Woman at Wheel comes an adventurous, dual timeline tale that explores the consequences of our choices, wisdom that comes with retrospection, and relationships that make us who we are, based on the extraordinary real life of Mary Leakey.

Includes discussion questions and a conversation with the author.

Must-read historical fiction for fans of Marie Benedict and Tracey Enerson Wood, based on the real life of Britain's first woman veterinary surgeon.Aleen Cust has big dreams. And no one-not her family, society, or the law-will stop her.Born in Ireland in 1868 to an aristocratic English family, Aleen knows she is destined to work with animals, even if her family is appalled by the idea of a woman pursuing a veterinary career. Going against their wishes but with the encouragement of the guardian assigned to her upon her father's death, Aleen attends the New Veterinary College in Edinburgh, enrolling as A. I. Custance to spare her family the humiliation they fear. At last, she is on her way to becoming a veterinary surgeon! Little does she know her biggest obstacles lie ahead.The Invincible Miss Cust is based on the real life of Aleen Isabel Cust, who defied her family and society to become Britain and Ireland's first woman veterinary surgeon. Through Penny Haw's meticulous research, riveting storytelling, and elegant prose, Aleen's story of ambition, determination, family, friendship, and passion comes to life. It is a story that, even today, women will recognize, of battling patriarchy and an unequal society to realize one's dreams and pave the way for other women in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.