Kathleen Baldwin

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Kristen Williams

Brief Overview

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Who is Kathleen Baldwin?

Kathleen Baldwin is an historical fiction author. She has written nine books so far.

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"Award-winning author, Kathleen Baldwin, loves adventure in books and in real life. She taught rock climbing in the Rockies, survival camped in the desert, was stalked by a mountain lion, lost an argument with a rattlesnake, enjoyed way too many classes in college, fell in love at least a dozen times, and married her very own hero. Together they’ve raised four free-spirited adventurous children." [1]

She has written several historical fiction romances but her first Young-Adult series is the Stranje House series.

What does she write?

Baldwin writes historical fictions. The series that I am focusing on is her Stranje House Series. This series follows a group of girls in 1814 during Napoleon's exile on Elba. While the series begins by following true events- it falls into a "what-if" scenario.

The girls of Stranje House are Georgina Fitzwilliam, Tess Aubreyson, Lady Jane Moore, Maya Barrington, and Seraphina Wyndham. Each girl has something unique that she brings to Stranje House which is explored in the novels.

One thing that Baldwin does in her Stranje House novels is show that the young outcast girls who have their own unique talents and skills but were made to feel like they were unworthy of love are given someone who compliments their talents and who won't hold them back.

A School for Unusual Girls

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The first book in the series follows Georgina Fitzwilliam as she joins Miss Stranje's school. While the general public believes the school uses unusual methods for turning unruly girls into proper ladies, Miss Stranje has a different agenda.

Expert from the book:

"It's 1814. Napoleon is exhaled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And at Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, five young ladies are secretly being trained for a world of spies, diplomacy, and war... After accidentally setting her father's stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible- until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust into a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads-- or their hearts..." [2]

Exile for Dreamers

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The second novel in the Stranje House series and it follows Tess's story. Readers will get an insight into Tess's mind and just what she goes through with her dreams.

Excerpt from the book:

"Tess Aubreyson can't run far enough or fast enough to escape the prophetic dreams that haunt her. Dreams bring nothing but death and grief, and Tess refuses to accept that any good can come from the Sight- the curse that destroyed her mother. But when danger threatens Stranje House, Tess's disturbing dreams become the only means of saving Lord Ravencross, the man she loves, and her fellow students. Tess's traitorous friend, a former student at Stranje House, has returned to England, intent on paving the way for Napoleon's invasion. Can the young ladies of Stranje House prevail once more? Or is England destined to fall into the hands of the power-mad dictator?"[3]

Refuge for Masterminds

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This is the third book in the series. This book shows the hidden side of Lady Jane and just how far this mastermind is willing to go to protect her friends.

Excerpt from the book:

"Napoleon's invasion of England is underway and someone at Stranje House is sneaking information to his spies. Lady Jane Moore is determined to find out who it is. If anyone can discover the traitor it is Jane- for, according to headmistress Emma Stranje- Lady Jane is a mastermind. Jane doesn't consider herself a mastermind. It's just that she tends to grasp the facts of a situation quickly, and by so doing, she's able to implement a sensible course of action. .Is Jane enough of a mastermind to save the brash young American inventor Alexander Sinclair, her friends at Stranje House, and possibly England itself?"[4]

Harbor for the Nightgale

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The fourth book of the series follows Maya's story. This novel delves into Maya's past and explains her unique view on people and their inner music.

Excerpt:

"She brought the mystery of India with her... Maya is from two different worlds. Her Indian mother died and her father, an English lord, took her away from the warmth of India to cold inhospitable London. She was not welcomed. Especially be her prejudiced stepmother, who sent Maya away to Stranje House, a reform school known for its harsh discipline. The school's dark reputation hides the fact that the headmistress, Miss Stranje, is actually training these young ladies to enter the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war. Stranje House turns out to be the perfect hiding place for Maya- she finally carves out a sense of belonging among these brilliant outcast girls. But her world turns upside down when Miss Stranje and the girls are drawn into Napoleon's devious conspiracy. To protect the friends she now holds dear, and to keep Napoleon and his ruthless spies from destroying the world she has grown to love, May agrees to play a duplicitous role. She must enter this treacherous game on the arm of the elusive Lord Kinsworth. Maya can read almost anyone- not so with this young rascal. Quick with a jest and armed with lethal charm, Lord Kinsworth remains just beyond her reach. Can she trust him? With Britain's future at risk and those she loves in deadly peril, Maya questions everything she thought she understood about life, love and loyalty. "[5]