Two Moons

by Thomas Mallon

Book Overview

It's the spring of 1877 in Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. Naval Observatory, great changes are afoot: historical, romantic, and scientific. When the brilliant Cynthia May--a Civil War widow whose beauty has been shadowed by worry and poverty--starts work as a human "computer" at the Observatory, astronomer Hugh Allison has found just the partner he needs for a radiant, half-crazed scheme which will make him live forever in the annals of science...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1101872527
• ISBN13: 9781101872529
• Release Date: February 2015
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Engaging Historical Fiction

This captivating novel not only immerses you in the politics and astronomical issues of the 1870's, but features characters that have dimension enough to make you care deeply about some and understand what makes the others tick. I'd rate as highly as "The Voyage of the Narwhal."

A historical fiction with intelligence and heart

This is a rare kind of book. It combines a meticulous sense of historical reality with science and high romance between unlikely characters. It makes me want to seek out and read all of Mallon's work, and to keep and reread (soon!) this one.

Unique and Mesmerizing

The last book I enjoyed this much was The Poisonwood Bible. I give Thomas Mallon credit for writing this lovely story with such a strong female character. More please.

Rich Historical Fiction Imbued with Life

Mallon is both skilled and humane, and those who love a good book with a sense of place and time and an era past will enjoy this book.

His Best Yet

Two Moons will satisfy those who like a good plot and those who crave strong characterization. As usual, Mallon's novel (set in post-Civil War Washington, D.C.) is meticulously researched. Protagonist Cynthia May will win your sympathy from the first chapter. I even found the astronomy intersting, and I received a C in the subject in college.