THE SECRET CHORD provides new context for some of the best-known episodes of David’s life while also focusing on others, even more remarkable and emotionally intense, that have been neglected. We see David through the eyes of those who love him or fear him --- from the prophet Natan, voice of his conscience, to his wives Mikhal, Avigail, and Batsheva, and finally to Solomon, the late-born son who redeems his Lear-like old age.

Bethia Mayfield lives among pioneers and Puritans of the 17th century. She yearns for an education, but her gender forbids it. At 12 she encounters Caleb, the Native American son of a chieftain, and the two forge a secret friendship. When Caleb goes to Cambridge to study Latin and Greek, Bethia finds herself there too --- but she is indentured as a housekeeper.

From Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March. Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs.