Daisy: A Novel

by Libby Sternberg

Overview

No empty-headed fool, Daisy Buchanan tells her side of the story of that tumultuous summer in the 1920s when she reunites with her first love, Jay Gatsby. Unlike her cousin Nick's recounting, her version tells readers what was in the letter that Jay sent to her on the eve of her wedding to Tom Buchanan that almost had her calling off the ceremony, and who was really driving the car that killed her husband's mistress. Although she wishes sometimes she could be a sprite (akin to the flickering green light at the end of her pier), Daisy comes to realize that charting her own destiny means making hard choices, for herself and her precious daughter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610885881
Publisher:	Bancroft Press
Publication date:	10/10/2023
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	1,116,367
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Libby Sternberg is an Edgar finalist, a Launchpad Prose Top 50 finalist, and a BookLife quarter finalist twice.

She writes historical fiction, women’s fiction and more under the names Libby Sternberg and Libby Malin, and one of her romantic comedies was bought for film.

Her other retelling of a classic story — a Jane Eyre reiteration titled Sloane Hall — was one of only 14 books highlighted in the Huffington Post on the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth.

Editorial Reviews

​​​​​​"...The author writes with a poised composure that reads like a continuation of Fitzgerald’s prose...A delightful portrayal of a female character claiming the story as her own, repossessing her own voice." Publishers Weekly’s BookLife Prize Contest

"Stunning and beautifully crafted, Daisy is both a love letter to Fitzgerald’s original and a fresh and enriching take on the classic…I love this book. It is thought-provoking and …manages to capture the tone and style of Fitzgerald while carving out a deep and rich story of its own." Maia Keeley, Reedsy Discovery

“This reframing adds intriguing information, amplifying and recoloring the story. Daisy's vacuous life and her painful growth are portrayed with compassion and nuance. Well-written and totally engaging." Mitchell James Kaplan, author of Rhapsody.

“This is more than a retelling from a switch in point of view. The life of a pampered and beautiful yet deeply unhappy young married woman shows the dark side of the Jazz Age in a fresh and provocative telling, marked by some real surprises." Nancy Bilyeau, author of Dreamland.

“Writing with grace and compassion, Ms. Sternberg reveals a much more human Daisy, who cares for the people in her life with a genuine depth of feeling...the reader is pulled into her story to gain a new understanding of not just the literary character, but the struggles and confusions women faced in the go-for-broke 1920s.”—Leslie Goetsch, Assistant Professor of English, George Mason University, Director of the Northern Virginia Writing Project

"Few writers can craft a book that draws you in, and even fewer make you wish the story will not end. Libby Sternberg has written such a story...Sternberg has created a character that is fully fleshed out...someone in search of her destiny, as are we all." Karen K. Brees, author of The Esposito Caper.

​​​​​​“Wildly energetic and heartfelt, Libby Sternberg’s Daisy has the insight and audacity to alter and clarify key elements of Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel. The inspiring result is the revitalization of an iconic American tale.”
―John C. Hampsey, Professor of British Romanticism, Cal Poly, and Author of the memoir Kaufman's Hill

From the Publisher

"The thoughts and desires of Daisy Buchanan come to the fore in this well imagined novel. This is more than a retelling of the classic from a switch in point of view. The life of a pampered and beautiful yet deeply unhappy young married woman shows the dark side of the Jazz Age in a fresh and provocative telling, marked by some real surprises."

NANCY BILYEAU

"The author writes with a poised composure that reads like a continuation of Fitzgerald’s prose... A delightful portrayal of a female character claiming the story as her own, repossessing her own voice."

PW-SPONSORED FICTION CONTEST BOOKLIFE

Daisy gives needed dimensions to the controversial Great Gatsby character, turning her from a beautiful fool into a strong woman with a life of her own.

ERIN HURLEY

I love this book. It is thought-provoking and yet still easy to read. It manages to capture the tone and style of Fitzgerald while carving out a deep and rich story of its own. If F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel captures the quintessential roaring 20’s man in his Jay Gatsby, then Ms. Sternberg has crafted the perfect Daisy to compliment him. She is a real woman of her time, no longer just the green light and the end of the dock… Stunning and beautifully crafted, Daisy is both a love letter to Fitzgerald’s original and a fresh and enriching take on the classic. A MUST READ!”

―REEDSY DISCOVERY REVIEWS