Denny S. Bryce – författare

A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoria’s court and adapting to life in Victorian England—based on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria as a “gift.” To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victoria’s magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps Sarah navigate the Victorian era as an outsider given insider privileges.But embedded in Sarah’s past is her destiny. Haunted by visions of destruction and decapitations, she desperately seeks a place, a home she will never run from, never fear, a refuge from nightmares and memories of death.From West Africa to Windsor Castle to Sierra Leone, to St. James's Palace, and the Lagos Colony, Sarah juggles the power and pitfalls of a royal upbringing as she battles racism and systematic oppression on her way to living a life worthy of a Yoruba princess.Based on the real life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s story is a sweeping saga of an African princess in Victorian England and West Africa, as she searches for a home, family, love, and identity.

A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victorias court and adapting to life in Victorian Englandbased on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoriaas a gift. To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victorias magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps Sarah navigate the Victorian era as an outsider given insider privileges.But embedded in Sarahs past is her destiny. Haunted by visions of destruction and decapitations, she desperately seeks a place, a home she will never run from, never fear, a refuge from nightmares and memories of death.From West Africa to Windsor Castle to Sierra Leone, to St. James's Palace, and the Lagos Colony, Sarah juggles the power and pitfalls of a royal upbringing as she battles racism and systematic oppression on her way to living a life worthy of a Yoruba princess.Based on the real life of Queen Victorias Black goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonettas story is a sweeping saga of an African princess in Victorian England and West Africa, as she searches for a home, family, love, and identity.

Award-winning author Denny S. Bryce and USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight collaborate on a brilliant novel that uncovers the boundary-breaking, genuine friendship between Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen of Jazz, and iconic movie star Marilyn Monroe. One woman was recognized as the premiere singer of her era with perfect pitch and tireless ambition.One woman was the most glamorous star in Hollywood, a sex symbol who took the world by storm.And their friendship was fast and firm…1952: Ella Fitzgerald is a renowned jazz singer whose only roadblock to longevity is society’s attitude toward women and race. Marilyn Monroe’s star is rising despite ongoing battles with movie studio bigwigs and boyfriends. When she needs help with her singing, she wants only the best—and the best is the brilliant Ella Fitzgerald. But Ella isn’t a singing teacher and declines—then the two women meet, and to everyone’s surprise but their own, they become fast friends. On the surface, what could they have in common? Yet each was underestimated by the men in their lives—husbands, managers, hangers-on. And both were determined to gain. Each fought for professional independence and personal agency in a time when women were expected to surrender control to those same men. This novel reveals and celebrates their surprising bond over a decade and serves as a poignant reminder of how true friendship can cross differences to bolster and sustain us through haunting heartbreak and wild success.

A princess enslaved becomes goddaughter to a queen. By the time she was seven years old, Aina had been born into life as an Egbado princess, witnessed the brutal killing of her entire family, and had been enslaved to a rival chieftain. With a death sentence hanging over her head, she would also face being bartered as an exotic trophy, renamed and presented to the distant Queen Victoria as a 'gift'. From traumatic beginnings, Sarah Forbes Bonetta's will to survive led her to negotiate Her Majesty's court, cultivate friends in high places and to flourish in a world far removed from her rural African upbringing. From West Africa to Windsor Castle, The Other Princess is a vivid imagining of the life of Queen Victoria's Black goddaughter, shining a light on a woman searching for home, love and identity.

1850. A ship sets sail from the West coast of Africa, bound for the distant shores of England. It carries on board a young princess who, at seven years old, has faced unimaginable trauma in her homeland, and must brave an uncertain future. Aina will disembark under grey skies as Sarah Forbes Bonetta, an exotic trophy to be presented to Queen Victoria as a 'gift'.

"Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo...a dazzling depiction of passion, prohibition, and murder.“ —Shelf Awareness “Ambitious and stunning.” —Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author "Vibrant…A highly entertaining read!” —Ellen Marie Wiseman New York Times Bestselling author of THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR  “The music practically pours out of the pages of Denny S. Bryce's historical novel, set among the artists and dreamers of the 1920s.”—OprahMag.com  Goodreads Debut Novel to Discover & Biggest Upcoming Historical Fiction BooksOprah Magazine, Parade, Ms. Magazine, SheReads, Bustle, BookBub, Frolic, & BiblioLifestyle Most Anticipated Books Marie Claire & Black Business Guide’s Books By Black Writers to Read TODAY & Buzzfeed Books for Bridgerton FansSheReads Most Anticipated BIPOC Winter Releases 2021Palm Beach Post Books for Your 2021 Reading ListIn a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love…in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections.  “Why would I talk to you about my life? I don't know you, and even if I did, I don't tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed.You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while.”  1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Café is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper’s daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose.  2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink. Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he’s right—if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he’s expecting . . .   Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It’s a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it’s a final chance to be truly heard and seen before it’s too late. No matter the cost . . .“Immersive, mysterious and evocative; factual in its history and nuanced in its creativity.” —Ms. Magazine“Perfect…Denny S. Bryce is a superstar!”—Julia Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series  “Evocative and entertaining!”—Laura Kamoie, New York Times bestselling author  “Wild Women and the Bluesdeftly delivers what historical fiction has been missing.”—Farrah Rochon USA Today bestselling author

“Bryce excels at placing readers in a glamorous time and place…riveting and vibrant.” – Booklist Go On Girl Book Club 2021 New Author of the Year | She Reads Best Literary Historical Fiction Coming in 2022 | BookRiot 2022 Historical Fiction to Add to Your TBR Right Now | We are Bookish Historical Fiction Novels You’ll Want in Your Future | BiblioLifestyle Most Anticipated Books of 2022 | BookBub Best Books of Spring 2022 & Best Historical Fiction Books of 2022 | BookTrib Top Ten Historical Fiction Books for the Spring 2022 In this haunting novel, the author of Wild Women and the Blues weaves together two stories as they unfold decades apart, as a woman on the run from an abusive husband joins her intrepid aunt as they head across the country from Chicago to Los Angeles, and confront a painful and shadowy past that has reverberated across generations.1928, Los Angeles: The newly-built Hotel Somerville is the hotspot for the city's glittering African-American elite. It embodies prosperity and dreams of equality for all—especially Daisy Washington. An up-and-coming journalist, Daisy anonymously chronicles fierce activism and behind-the-scenes Hollywood scandals in order to save her family from poverty. But power in the City of Angels is also fueled by racism, greed, and betrayal. And even the most determined young woman can play too many secrets too far . . .   1968, Chicago: For Frankie Saunders, fleeing across America is her only escape from an abusive husband. But her rescuer is her reckless, profane Aunt Daisy, still reeling from her own shattered past. Frankie doesn't want to know what her aunt is up to so long as Daisy can get her to LA—and safety. But Frankie finds there’s no hiding from long-held secrets—or her own surprising strength.   Daisy will do whatever it takes to settle old scores and resolve the past—no matter the damage. And Frankie will come up against hard choices in the face of unexpected passion. Both must come to grips with what they need, what they’ve left behind—and all that lies ahead . . .   “The scenes are cinematically vivid, the language fresh and vibrant, the characters complicated and real.” – Historical Novel Society “The author of Wild Women and the Blues is back with another historical fiction novel to dazzle and amaze.” – Book Riot “An engrossing family saga filled with heartbreak and love, victory, forgiveness, and loss, and a wonderful character study of several unforgettable women.” – All About Romance 

“Bryce excels at placing readers in a glamorous time and place…riveting and vibrant.” – BooklistGo On Girl Book Club 2021 New Author of the Year | She Reads Best Literary Historical Fiction Coming in 2022 | BookRiot 2022 Historical Fiction to Add to Your TBR Right Now | We are Bookish Historical Fiction Novels You’ll Want in Your Future | BiblioLifestyle Most Anticipated Books of 2022 | BookBub Best Books of Spring 2022 & Best Historical Fiction Books of 2022 | BookTrib Top Ten Historical Fiction Books for the Spring 2022In this haunting novel, the author of Wild Women and the Blues weaves together two stories as they unfold decades apart, as a woman on the run from an abusive husband joins her intrepid aunt as they head across the country from Chicago to Los Angeles, and confront a painful and shadowy past that has reverberated across generations.1928, Los Angeles: The newly-built Hotel Somerville is the hotspot for the city's glittering African-American elite. It embodies prosperity and dreams of equality for all—especially Daisy Washington. An up-and-coming journalist, Daisy anonymously chronicles fierce activism and behind-the-scenes Hollywood scandals in order to save her family from poverty. But power in the City of Angels is also fueled by racism, greed, and betrayal. And even the most determined young woman can play too many secrets too far . . .  1968, Chicago: For Frankie Saunders, fleeing across America is her only escape from an abusive husband. But her rescuer is her reckless, profane Aunt Daisy, still reeling from her own shattered past. Frankie doesn't want to know what her aunt is up to so long as Daisy can get her to LA—and safety. But Frankie finds there’s no hiding from long-held secrets—or her own surprising strength.   Daisy will do whatever it takes to settle old scores and resolve the past—no matter the damage. And Frankie will come up against hard choices in the face of unexpected passion. Both must come to grips with what they need, what they’ve left behind—and all that lies ahead . . .  “The scenes are cinematically vivid, the language fresh and vibrant, the characters complicated and real.” – Historical Novel Society  “The author of Wild Women and the Blues is back with another historical fiction novel to dazzle and amaze.” – Book Riot“An engrossing family saga filled with heartbreak and love, victory, forgiveness, and loss, and a wonderful character study of several unforgettable women.” – All About Romance

Inspired by a real-life scandal that was shocking even for the tumultuous Roaring Twenties, this captivating novel tells the story of a pioneering Black journalist, a secret interracial marriage among the New York elite, and the sensational divorce case that ignited an explosive battle over race and class—and brought together three very different women fighting for justice, legitimacy, and the futures they risked everything to shape.  For readers of Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, a transporting work of fact-based historical fiction from Denny S. Bryce, bestselling author of Wild Women and the Blues, In the Face of the Sun, and Can't We Be Friends: A Novel of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe.New York, 1924. Born to English immigrants who’ve built a comfortable life, idealistic Alice Jones longs for the kind of true love her mother and father have. She believes she’s found it with Leonard “Kip” Rhinelander, the shy heir to his prominent white family’s real estate fortune. Alice too, is “white”, though she is vaguely aware of rumors that question her ancestry—gossip her parents dismiss. But when the lovers secretly wed, Kip’s parents threaten his inheritance unless he annuls the marriage.   Devastated but determined, Alice faces overwhelming odds both legally and in the merciless court of public opinion. But there is one person who can either help her—or shatter her hopes for good: Reporter Marvel Cunningham. The proud daughter of an accomplished Black family, Marvel lives to chronicle social change and the Harlem Renaissance’s fiery creativity.   At first, Marvel sees Alice’s case as a tabloid sensation generated by a self-hating woman who failed to “pass.” But the deeper she investigates, the more she will recognize just how much she and Alice have in common. For Rhinelander vs. Rhinelander will bring to light stunning truths that will force both women to confront who they are, and who they can be, in a world that is all too quick to judge.

Inspired by real-life legendary choreographer Katherine Dunham’s groundbreaking expedition into the heart of Caribbean dance culture, this uniquely captivating novel imagines the experiences of three very different women who accompany her, hoping to find their destinies—yet finding themselves forced to survive a historic event . . .Chicago, 1935. Othella is an orphaned con artist who needs to escape the city's brutal underworld . . . or else. Vivian Jean is a wealthy wife, student, and anthropologist eager to prove herself professionally and personally. Zinzi is a Jamaican labor union activist determined to bring change to her homeland's plantation system. Thanks to a series of fortunate mishaps and coincidences, all three join Dunham’s voyage to the Maroon village of Accompong in Jamaica’s Cockpit Country—and perhaps discover what they desperately want most . . .Through skill and curiosity, Othella becomes a valued member of the expedition, even as she struggles to conceal her past. Zinzi's knowledge of the Cockpit allows the expedition to explore uncharted territory, even as a forbidden love and fierce resistance threaten everything she seeks to protect. As Vivian Jean’s observations help Dunham make unprecedented discoveries, she grapples with her second husband's guilt and accusations. Yet, amidst their private battles, nature presents an even greater challenge . . .When a deadly storm bears down on the island, imperiling the women’s missions—and their lives—they must form an unlikely sisterhood. To survive, they will need each other more than anyone or anything they’ve ever needed.