Alexandria the Great and Other, Lesser Beings

It’s 1908. Josie, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a Krakow professor, escapes betrothal to a mineralogist by running off to America with a superbly handsome stranger. They couldn’t be a poorer intellectual and political match but their physical attraction is intense. The story of their initial encounter becomes a family myth of True Love that dominates three generations of otherwise intelligent, independent women. The novel chronicles the tension between these women’s professional goals and their emotional and physical drives. The pivotal character is the brilliant, exquisite Alexandria Bach, who vows that Love will not ruin her life the way it destroyed her mother Josie. Alexandria is educated at the best of schools, becomes the first woman officer in U.S. Naval Intelligence, and plans a diplomatic career—until a man risks his life to win her love. How will she resolve her dilemma? If she marries and has children, would they be the debris of True Love or Its gifts?