Harriet and Isabella / Patricia O'Brien.

As Henry Ward Beecher lies dying in 1887, his estranged sister, Isabella Hooker, comes to Brooklyn Heights for a final attempt at reconciliation. Among those who oppose her visit is her sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe. The rich and powerful Beecher family has never recovered from the trial 12 years earlier in which Henry, a charismatic preacher, stood accused of committing adultery with Elizabeth Tilton. Rather than supporting Henry unquestioningly, Isabella stood by Victoria Woodhull, the outspoken suffragette who made the charges public to advance her own causes. O'Brien skillfully carries readers back and forth through time and place in brief chapters that elucidate Isabella's involvement in the suffrage movement and Harriet's literary triumphs. Mrs. Tilton's contradictory accounts of events and Henry's ambiguous explanations contribute to the jury's inability to reach a verdict, and the nagging uncertainties influence the dynamics among the Beecher siblings as well. This intriguing novel illuminates the era's political and social struggles as well as the stresses within a celebrity family.