The Downstairs Girl

Stacey Lee has a gift for writing vivid and inclusive historical fiction

This is the third historical fiction novel I’ve read by Stacey Lee, and I have been impressed by all three of them. She is great at creating fully fleshed out characters, where even the antagonists are people that a reader can feel some sympathy for. This book is a fascinating look at the intersection of gender and race in 1890s Atlanta, and the power of journalism to address social injustices.