The Movement of Stars: A Novel
Hannah Price spends her nights on the rooftop porch with a telescope pointed at the heavens, hoping to spot a new comet. During the day, she chafes under the strict discipline of her mid-nineteenth-century Quaker community in Nantucket. She also chafes under her own sense of propriety and self-discipline when she finds herself drawn to handsome and passionate Isaac, the Azorean second mate on a whaling vessel who has sought her out for instruction in navigation. Their obstacles are similar—both hope to achieve greatness in disciplines dominated by white men—and soon Hannah cannot deny her affection, much to the displeasure of her community. Brill has created a compelling and likable character in Hannah Price; it’s easy to root for her to find her comet and acknowledge her feelings for Isaac. Hannah’s search during a period of great discovery and advancement in astronomy, as well as her relationship with Isaac amid widespread abolitionist sentiments, adds up to a stirring historical drama. In an author’s note, Brill acknowledges that pioneering, Nantucket-born, comet-discovering astronomer Maria Mitchell was the inspiration for Hannah’s story. --Sarah Hunter