We are the WORDS Book Group (We Often Read Delightful Stories)! Join us in lively discussions of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction. July's selection is Under the wide and starry sky (2014) by Nancy Horan. Horan's spectacular second novel (following book-club favorite Loving Frank, 2007) has been worth the wait. Brimming with the same artistic verve that drives her complicated protagonists, it follows the loving, tumultuous partnership of Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and his Indiana-born wife, Fanny Osbourne. Fanny, an aspiring artist still tied to her unfaithful first husband when they meet in 1875, is fiery, courageous, and the mother of two living children. Louis, a younger man whose frailty belies a joyous, energetic spirit, dreams of writing full-time. While he perfects his craft, she becomes his protector and editor-collaborator, accompanying him across Europe and America and finally to Samoa in hopes of healing his weak lungs. This is more than just another novel designed to honor the unsung accomplishments of a famous man's spouse, though. Equally adventurous and colorful, Louis and Fanny could each command the story singlehandedly. Together, they are riveting and insightfully envisioned, including through moving depiction of how their relationship transforms over time. Horan also explores relevant social concerns, such as cultural imperialism and xenophobia and how Stevenson's life influenced his literary themes. An exhilarating epic about a free-spirited couple who traveled the world yet found home only in one another. -- Booklist