title: Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society: A Novel
author:  Amy Hill Hearth 
description: Naples, Florida, was nothing but a tiny backwater in the 1960s. Dora Witherspoon, called the Turtle Lady for her tendency to rescue injured snapping turtles, is resigned to being back in town. The scandal of her divorce is soon eclipsed by the arrival of Jackie Hart, a middle-aged, fabulous, and dissatisfied Boston housewife. With the help of the town librarian, Jackie forms the Collier County Womens Literary Society. The reading group (or salon, as she insists) attracts the town misfits: Plain Jane, a spinster with a secret career; Robbie-Lee Simpson, the towns only gay man; Miss Bailey White, fresh out of prison for killing her husband; and Priscilla Harmon, a young African American maid with dreams of higher education. Jackie stirs up more than just literary discussion as she adjusts to southern ways, running afoul of her husbands boss and the local Klan chapter. The so-called misfits of the town are good company, although a few very early revelations eliminate some much-needed tension. This first novel is a sweet story of female bonding and southern grit that will remind readers of Fannie Flagg. --Susan Maguire
zlib_text: Praise for Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County
  Women’s Literary Society
  “One can feel the immense joy of Amy Hill Hearth’s engagement in her
  ﬁrst novel. It radiates through every scene and through every page.
  Sometimes, an exceptional writer ﬁnds an exceptional premise, and the
  result is a truly exceptional book. Such is the case with Miss Dreamsville . . .
  e writing is brilliant, especially the dialogue through which the characters
  are deﬁned.”
  —Southern Literary Review
  “Amy Hill Hearth’s ﬁrst novel is a charming and funny snapshot of life in a
  tiny Florida town in 1962. It’s also a sweet-tart reminder that those good
  old days weren’t so good for everybody.”
  —Tampa Bay Times
  “Funny, insightful, poignant, and uplifting.”
  —e Cleveland Plain Dealer
  “You may already know Hearth’s name—the former journalist wrote the
  nonﬁction book Having Our Say: e Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, which
  was a bestseller and play. Her ﬁctional storytelling is just as captivating.”
  —e Durham (NC) Su