1938. Hitler's expansionist policies are arousing both anger and admiration, not least in Helsinki's Wednesday Club. The members of this relaxed gentleman's club are old friends of lawyer Claes Thune. But this year it is apparent that the political unrest in Europe is having an effect on the cohesion of the group. Thune has recently divorced and is at something of a loss, running his law practice with no great enthusiasm. Luckily he has the assistance of an efficient new secretary, Matilda Wiik. But behind her polished exterior Mrs Wiik is tormented by memories of the Finnish Civil War, when she experienced horrors she has been trying to forget ever since. And one evening, with the Wednesday Club gathered in Thune's office, she hears a voice she hoped she would never hear again. She is suddenly plunged back into the past. But this time she is no longer a helpless victim . . .

This new addition to the popular guidebook series explores women's experiences and the impact of their activities on the history and landscape of St. Louis. When the city was founded, most St. Louisans believed that "a woman's place is in the home," in the house of her father, husband, or master. Over the years, women pushed out the boundaries of their lives into the public arena, and in doing so they changed the face of St. Louis. In Her Place is a guide to the changing definition of a woman's place in St. Louis, beginning with the colonial period and ending with the 1960s. Each chapter explores the experiences of women during a specific time period and identifies the sites of some of their public activities on a map of the city created from historical sources. Along the way, readers will meet such significant St. Louis women as Harriet Scott, Susan Blow, Edna Gellhorn, and Philippine Duchesne and learn about the activities of the Ladies' Union Aid Society, the Sisters of Charity, the League of Women Voters, and the Harper Married Ladies' Club. The book also includes four tours of the St. Louis region addressing the themes of the book and identifying significant buildings, homes, and other key sites. Current photographs will help readers locate the sites on detailed maps. An up-to-date bibliography and resource listing make this an invaluable guide for anyone interested in studying the history of women in the region.

Half of Jan Morrison's life is pure chaos, the half that has to do with her family, her sense of wifeliness, motherliness, womanliness. The other half, the half in which she counsels children whose own lives are as chaotic as hers, is the core of her days, and she is pretty successful at it even though she comes to school hungover, popping breath mints, unsympathetic toward little girls who suck their thumbs, and incapable of calling her autocratic principal by his first name. Asshole seems a much more fitting label. Then Mr. Peterson warns her that her days at James Lee Elementary School are numbered. RIFFING: reduction in force. Six weeks, to be exact. And her only hope of survival is to cure the six most problematic kids in the school or at least make them disappear from the principal's radar. Between her divorce and her unsympathetic school principal, Jan is almost as unstable as the kids in her Wednesday Club who are not following the rules and are creating havoc in classrooms and on the playground. Mr. Pedersen has given her the edict "cure these kids" or else, the else being her job. Jan knows she needs to cure herself while she's at it. The cure may be the Wednesday Club, except that every time it meets, one of its six members either flies away as a pterodactyl, hides behind the tightened strings of his hoody, continues to suck her slick thumb, steals a watch just for the heck of it, or just plain disappears. An irate parent, a scared principal, and Jan's inability to keep her mouth shut bring Jan's job to an abrupt end. However, a couple of good girl friends, a talented lover, a dog, the return of a son, and a belief in her own vision for messed up little kids keep Jan moving through the chaos, hope on the horizon.

Chronicles the life of American author Kate Chopin and discusses how her novel "The Awakening" was viewed by society when it was first published, why she is considered a feminist, how her personal life influenced her writing, and other related topics.