The Late 19th Century tells us as much about ourselves as looking in the mirror. Two writers explore the late 19th century, though one writes fiction and the other nonfiction, their methods of steeping themselves and their work in period detail is striking. Neal Thompson joins Suzanne Lang with his “narrative americana”, a nonfiction account of the Irish immigration of the 19th century in The First Kennedys, The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty. Also featured is Connie Hertzberg Mayo, whose novel, The Sharp Edge of Mercy is set in America’s first cancer hospital with themes of medical ethics, racial injustice, gay relationships, and workplace harassment.