A MOST CLEVER GIRL by Stephanie Marie Thornton - Spotlight

 

In the spirit of John Le Carre, Thornton brings to life the remarkable true story of a spy who worked for both Russia and the United States in the 1940s and 50s. Bentley is often credited with starting America’s Communist Red Scare, and for naming hundreds of American Communists as traitors to the state―including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the infamous American couple sentenced to death for treason.

 Decades after Bentley’s death, Thornton’s A MOST CLEVER GIRL (Berkley Trade Paperback) is the first historical novel to tell her story, exposing the ruthlessness of her Russian counterparts and the intense pressures she faced at every turn, ultimately illuminating the enormous emotional and psychological toll that she paid for her work.

 Some of Bentley’s male counterparts provided similar espionage and informant work, and were awarded high honors for their service by the American government. But Bentley’s story has largely been pushed under the rug. The truth of her court testimonies has constantly been called into question, despite a now-declassified report that has verified her statements. Thornton’s novel aims to shed light on Bentley’s story and polish her somewhat tarnished reputation―while still leaving readers guessing at her motives and her version of the truth.

I’m a writer and high school history teacher who has been obsessed with infamous women from history since I was twelve. 

Prior to my new novel, I wrote about two women closely connected to the White House. And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis is an intimate portrait of America’s most iconic First Lady while American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt, tells the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s hellion of a daughter and how she became Washington’s Other Monument.

My first two novels, The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora and Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt reimagine the lives of two of history’s forgotten women: Theodora of the Byzantine Empire and Pharaoh Hatshepsut.

My third and fourth books center around the women who stood behind the greatest conquerors the world has ever seen. The Tiger Queens is the story of Genghis Khan’s wife and daughters, while The Conqueror’s Wife tells of the women who both loved and hated Alexander the Great. With my love of the ancient world, I also joined the H Team to help pen a collaborative novel, Song of War: A Novel of Troy in which I put a new spin on the story of Cassandra, King Priam’s cursed seer of a daughter.

I live with my husband and daughter in Alaska, where I’m always working on my next novel.

You can find me on Twitter as @StephMThornton and I’m also on Goodreads, Facebook, and Instagram.

www.stephaniemariethorntonauthor.com