Margaret Chase Smith was a woman of firsts: In 1940, she was the first woman elected by the state of Maine to serve in Congress; nine years later she was the first woman the state elected to the Senate. And in 1950, she became the first senator to stand on the Senate floor and publicly rebuke Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, who rose to power using post–World War II anti-Communist hysteria and ruined the lives of those who opposed him. Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” speech was a public act of defiance at a time when both Democrats and Republicans were cowed into silence for fear of retribution. It came at a cost: She was shunned by her colleagues, challenged in a primary, and McCarthy threatened to expose her personal secrets. Conscience is the story of a remarkable woman who stood up for what was right and refused to back down.

In the aftermath of World War I, First Lady Edith Wilson believes her new husband, President Woodrow Wilson, was put on earth by God to prevent future cataclysms and build a League of Nations, assuring peace across the globe. When her husband’s health is threatened, Edith takes unprecedented steps, including keeping the Vice President and the Congress at bay, to assure that their dream will come to pass. Asserting her own will in the old boys’ club of Washington, D.C., the First Lady protects her husband while claiming a slice of power for herself. The Second Mrs. Wilson chronicles a unique incident in United States history with intrigue and excitement.