There are no female publishing CEOs in 1960’s New York. And that is exactly what savvy, ambitious Bernadette Swift plans to change.
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Eliza Knight’s Confessions of a Grammar Queen, which is out June 10th 2025.
Bernadette Swift, a young copyeditor at Lenox & Park Publishing, is determined to become the first female CEO in the publishing industry. But first she needs to take the next step up that ladder with a promotion that her boorish and sexist boss wants to thwart. Seeking a base of support, Bernadette joins a feminist women’s book club at the New York Public Library, and soon, she’s inspiring her fellow members to challenge the male gatekeepers and decades of ingrained sexism in their workplaces and pursue their personal and professional dreams.
And that is precisely what Bernedette does on a daily basis: keeps her eye on the prize―equality for women in the workplace, and a promotion―while fending off the ire of her boss and the sabotaging efforts of a jealous coworker. With the support of her book club buddies and a certain charismatic editor at Lenox & Park who has completely fallen for her, maybe, just maybe, Bernadette will prove able to claim victory for herself and the young women coming after her.
“I’m thinking about joining a new book club. It’s just for women, reading female empowering books.” Bernadette leaned over the desk, whispering, “Interested?”
“You bet I am! Will we be reading the Kinsey Reports?” Melanie gave a feigned look of shock.
Bernadette, however, was genuinely shocked, and she struggled to keep her face from showing it. She’d never heard anyone speak about the Kinsey Reports before and knew of them herself only after seeing a brief article about them in the newspaper. Was reading one of them an option for a book club?
“Sexual Behavior in the Human Female,” Melanie whispered behind her hand as she glanced toward the door, which opened for another round of employees. “I’ve been wanting to read it, but I’ve been too nervous to get it from the bookstore.”
Bernadette waited for the elevator to close behind those who’d just arrived, then asked, “Did you read the first report: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male?”
Melanie rolled her eyes. “Who needs to read that? We get a daily sample just walking down the street.”
Bernadette couldn’t help the snort that escaped her. “To be honest, I haven’t read either of them. Maybe we should suggest them to the club. I’ll let you know the day and time.”
Bernadette hurried outside to the small park beside the building. As she sat on the bench, the heat of summer was whisked away by a zephyr that rustled the leaves in the park. She opened her waxed-paper-wrapped sandwich. Today was simple fare: aged cheddar and tomato, with a leaf of lettuce to separate the soggy tomato from the bread.
As she chewed, she contemplated what had happened that morning.
Even with the Equal Pay Act passed earlier in the year, she’d heard rumors that some of her male colleagues were making two-thirds more than she was. If she asked for a raise, Wall wasn’t likely to give it—even though he was quick to give her more work. He’d think she was demanding and ungrateful. She wouldn’t put it past him to pay her less just to spite her. New York was expensive, and as it was, she had a hard time living on her salary. In fact, she was supplementing it by tutoring some of the children in her building and editing papers for university students.
And she didn’t live lavishly. Her small apartment was more of a couple of boxes taped together. When her parents had come to visit for the first time, they’d been horrified she’d be willing to live in such cramped quarters when they had a perfectly good farmhouse in Maryland.
They’d spent the whole trip reminding her she was always welcome to come back home. Her mother had assured her she’d soon find a husband if she just moved back. That her veterinarian father knew plenty of young animal doctors looking for wives. And that was the path some of her fellow graduates had taken, while others decided to pursue careers like Bernadette.
But Bernadette wasn’t going to succeed by getting married even if being unmarried complicated things. In fact, marriage itself was orthogonal to her career aspirations of becoming a CEO. At least in her own mind.
With a few extra minutes and her sandwich scarfed down, Bernadette purchased three pairs of stockings—all pink, two for herself and one for Melanie—then walked past the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue.
It was her favorite place in the city. From the majestic stone lions standing sentry at the bottom of the front steps to the endless shelves full of books inside. Books had always brought her solace, so the library was her metaphorical comfortable chair at the heart of Manhattan.
Comfort: from Latin confortare, also meaning to strengthen. So essentially, the library made her stronger. Who could argue with that?
