August 1, 2024 8:15 AM EDT

Best-selling author Alyssa Cole's 2017 novel, An Extraordinary Union, is a tender espionage romance that is unsparing in its portrayal of the racism of the 19th century. Set during the U.S. Civil War, freedwoman Ellen Burns poses as a mute, enslaved person working in the Virginia household of a Confederate senator in order to gain intelligence for the Union Army. At the same time, Scotsman Malcolm McCall pretends to be a Confederate soldier in order to spy on the politician’s family. The two soon find themselves working together, falling in love, and risking their lives for the promise of a better America.

Buy Now: An Extraordinary Union on Bookshop | Amazon

ncG1vNJzZmismaKyb6%2FOpmZvcWlrg3KDjpqlZp2oqb%2Biu9GdoKeZoq56trrIqKVo