Ridgefield Native's Debut Novel to be Published in Paperback

RIDGEFIELD, CT -- "Lilli de Jong," the debut novel by 1980 Ridgefield High School graduate Janet Benton is being published July 10 by Anchor Books. Among its many accolades, "Lilli de Jong" was named by Library Journal as one of the Best Books 2017, Historical Fiction, National Public Radio called it a Best Book of 2017, and Bustle included it as one of the 17 Best Debut Novels by Women in 2017. It was a finalist for the David J. Langum Prize in Historical Fiction and a semifinalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards in Historical Fiction.

In 1883 Philadelphia, twenty-three-year-old Lilli de Jong is pregnant and alone—abandoned by her lover and banished from her Quaker home. She gives birth at a charity for wronged women, planning to give up the baby. But the power of their bond sets her on a completely unexpected path. Unwed mothers in 1883 face staggering prejudice, yet Lilli refuses to give up her baby girl. Instead, she braves moral condemnation and financial ruin in a quest to keep the two of them alive.

Benton’s aspirations as a writer began at Ridgefield High School; in her third year at the school, she and a faculty advisor founded the literary magazine Lodestar. “I chose that name because a lodestar is a star by which one charts a path” Benton said. “I hoped writing would be like this star in my life—as indeed it has.”

Photo of Janet Benton provided.