Ida, in Love and in Trouble, Veronica Chambers
Ida, in Love and in Trouble, Veronica Chambers
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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Ida, in Love and in Trouble

Author: Veronica Chambers

Narrator: Janina Edwards

Unabridged: 9 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/10/2024


Synopsis

For fans of Bridgerton and The Davenports comes a sweeping historical novel from bestselling author Veronica Chambers about courageous (and flirtatious) Ida B. Wells as she navigates society parties and society prejudices to become a civil rights crusader.

Before she became a warrior, Ida B. Wells was an incomparable flirt with a quick wit and a dream of becoming a renowned writer. The first child of newly freed parents who thrived in a community that pulsated with hope and possibility after the Civil War, Ida had a big heart, big ambitions, and even bigger questions: How to be a good big sister when her beloved parents perish in a yellow fever epidemic? How to launch her career as a teacher? How to make and keep friends in a society that seems to have no place for a woman who speaks her own mind? And – always top of mind for Ida – how to find a love that will let her be the woman she dreams of becoming?

Ahead of her time by decades, Ida B. Wells pioneered the field of investigative journalism with her powerful reporting on violence against African Americans. Her name became synonymous with courage and an unflinching demand for racial and gender equality. But there were so many facets to Ida Bell and critically acclaimed writer Veronica Chamber unspools her full and colorful life as Ida comes of age in the rapidly changing South, filled with lavish society dances and parties, swoon-worthy gentleman callers, and a world ripe for the taking.

About Veronica Chambers

Veronica Chambers was an editor for The New York Times Magazine, a culture writer for Newsweek, and a senior associate editor at Premiere magazine. Her work has appeared in Vogue and Glamour, among many other publications. She is also the author of a critically acclaimed memoir, Mama's Girl. In 2000 she received a fellowship from the Japan Society to spend several months researching in Japan. She fell in love with the country and has returned for extended stays every year since.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Lois on September 09, 2024

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Veronica Chambers, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley. This is narrated by Janina Edwards. Janina is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and she knocked it out of the park with this one. For the most part, in this book, the narration......more

Goodreads review by KMart on September 12, 2024

This is something of a blend of historical fiction and a biography that brings Ida B. Wells to life. While the figure many of us know is the fierce anti-lynching activist and pioneering journalist, Chambers offers us a glimpse into a different side of her—a young woman who longs for love and grows i......more

Goodreads review by Mysia on March 11, 2025

4.25 ⭐️ I am often warily intrigued by stories like this, but truly appreciated the humanization of Ida B Wells here and loved seeing how she stood fast in her values until the love she deserved found her. Black and nonblack Americans owe a lot to her and this story beautifully illustrates just that.......more

Goodreads review by Natalie on April 15, 2025

the writing was weird, almost like it was trying to be a biography??? i got about 100 pages in and couldn’t find a plot. i might come back to it after i finish my other library books but for now i’d rather spend my time on something else.......more

Goodreads review by Allison on March 17, 2025

This book is an enlightening portrayal of the impact of Ida’s life and her indomitable spirit in leading the crusade to enact anti-lynching laws in America in the Reconstruction era.......more


Quotes

“This coming-of-age story inspired by the personal and professional life of civil rights crusader, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, is beautiful, ambitious, freethinking, and PASSIONATE. When it comes to distilling American culture and history, Veronica Chambers is one of our most imaginative and brilliant novelists.”
 —Kwame Alexander, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author of "The Door of No Return" Trilogy and "Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir"

“Veronica Chambers is an alchemist. In this vivid novel she has plucked Ida B. Wells from history’s dusty shelf and returned her to us—radiant, courageous, openhearted, and authentic. Ida is glorious!”—Candace Fleming, award-winning author of The Enigma Girls

“Ida B. Wells is a titan of history, and Veronica Chambers has now made her a literary heroine for the ages. Chambers authentically renders Ida in her full humanity, imagining her deepest thoughts and feelings as though she were our best friend. This beautiful book is sure to inspire a new generation of budding activists and writers."—Saina Taub, creator and star of the musical Suffs

*“A vivid, timely, and immersive introduction to an activist and her enduring legacy.”—Kirkus, starred review