Prohibition Historical Fiction - Juniper and Anise

By Marion L. Cornett

I am usually all about time travel…the gone but not forgotten guy. Having said this, my blog today features a novel that isn’t exactly time travel, but fits the gone but not forgotten part of me, perfectly.

Historical fiction is the sister genre to my own genre of time travel, and Juniper and Anise by Marion L. Cornett is a wonderful example of this. I say this because the same amount of research has to be done in order to be true to the era. Marion has done a wonderful job of transporting the reader to another time. She is a talented author. I was impressed by the details she crafted into Juniper and Anise, from the feel of the era and speech patterns, to the description of newly paved streets in 1929. She makes you feel the period.

Marion chose a time period I have a particular interest in, the prohibition years of the Roaring Twenties, complete with gangsters, flapper girls, speakeasies, and bathtub gin.

A 1920s Speakeasy

My own grandmother lived in this era and often frequented and sang in speakeasies as well as burlesque shows (non-stripper).

This is not a picture of my grandmother, but I remember a photo from her burlesque days wearing a hat like this.

I also worked in a speakeasy….sort of. Trouble is, I worked there in the 1970s, forty some years after the repeal of the 18th amendment. It was a dental manufacturing company in downtown Chicago. But it was once a very secretive speakeasy. Every morning the operator would carry me up in the manned, vintage, hand-cranked elevator to the 4th floor where the door still had a sliding peep hole. 

The characters in Juniper and Anise became very real to me, such as, Polish immigrant, Hulda Rosenkowski, a strong independent woman who survived tough times by making high quality gin, along with her loyal friend and proficient baker, Izzy. I found myself caring for them, wanting to know with each page turn, what happens next.

I loved it when Hulda went through her flapper girl stages in the Detroit speakeasies. I could see in my head what she might have looked like and the following pictures will probably not do her justice, but it gives an idea.

Another interesting feature in this book is that it spans multiple generations as the story is being told to modern day Chloe by an elderly eye witness, Claude, whom Chloe had sought out. You are allowed to experience the baby, Frances Rose, who had been in the constant care of Hulda and Izzy, grow up to become a spirited, never-been-kissed, eighteen year-old. As the years roll on, the book comes to a very satisfying conclusion.

It would be rude to feature a book and compare it to my own, so I will just say that Marion and I have similarities and tastes. I guess that’s why I liked Juniper and Anise so much. That, and the fact that it is just plainly, a good book.

As Hulda might say, “ojej, I just can’t wait for the next book.”

Juniper and Anise by Marion L. Cornett is published by Whiskey Creek Press

Juniper and Anise (Amazon)

From the Author’s Own Words:

My passion is history during the early 1900s and doing research to gain more insight and knowledge prompted me to compile these two self-published books. And now, I'm onto more writing, with the recently-released Juniper and Anise, a fictional story based on events that took place during the United States' Prohibition Era. While working on Juniper and Anise, I began thinking about other villagers.  And now, work is in progress of a companion novel, tentatively entitled Tilly Loves Johnny.

When I'm not writing, my day job is commercial embroidery, which I've done for nearly 20 years. Love to read, write, exercise, socialize, and be a part of the internet social media.

“Born to be creative, loves to write--that's my motto.”

Amazon Author Page

Author Website

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