The theme of courageous women who come together to take care
of whatever problem life throws at them threads throughout
the novels of Elaine
Hussey and the literary novels of her alter ego, Peggy
Webb. THE
LANGUAGE OF SILENCE garnered Peggy a review from
Publisher’s Weekly that calls the novel, “…magical…a
page turner.” When the author talked to Fresh Fiction about
this book, she said, “Fall in love with the staunch, mystic
mountain woman, Ruth, who roars through The Language of
Silence. And then, mighty warrior woman, go forth and roar!”
The winner of this contest will receive a digital
copy of THE
LANGUAGE OF SILENCE.
Following in the footsteps of her tiger-taming
grandmother, a woman flees her abusive husband to join the
circus in this masterful, heartfelt work of women’s
fiction.
Peggy Webb won raves for her debut novel, The Tender Mercy
of Roses*, with novelist Pat Conroy calling her “a truly
gifted writer.” Now Webb has crafted a poignant portrayal of
a woman on the edge seeking solace in the past.
Nobody in the family talks about Ellen’s grandmother Lola,
who was swallowed up by the circus and emerged as a woman
who tamed tigers and got away scot-free for killing her
husband. When Ellen’s husband, Wayne, beats her nearly to
death, she runs to the only place she knows where a woman
can completely disappear—the same Big Top that once
sheltered her grandmother. Though the circus moves from one
town to the next, Wayne tracks it, and Ellen, relentlessly.
At the same time, Ellen learns more about her feisty, fiery
relative, and the heritage that is hers for the taking—if
she dares. With her violent husband hot on her trail, Ellen
must learn to stand up and fight for herself, to break the
cycle of abuse, and pass down a story of love and redemption
to her children.