Book Review: ‘A Sign Of Her Own: A Novel’ By Sarah Marsh

by | Jan 8, 2024 | Books | 0 comments

Ellen Lark was born deaf, and learned as a young woman with Alexander Graham Bell, whose machine, Visibel Speech, taught deaf people to speak with symbols. When she meets Frank, a deaf man, he encourages her to learn to use sign language to communicate. When Bell files for a patent on the phone, it’s disputed by Western Union, and Ellen is caught in the middle. Frank works for Western, and Bell wants Ellen to speak on his behalf, and Ellen has to figure out what’s best for her, as she could lose everything. I love historical fiction novels, and this one is really good. I was not familiar with the whole phone deal, I knew Bell invented it, but everything else involving the deaf community then I was not. This is author Marsh’s debut novel, and it’s a home run.

You can pick up A Sign Of Her Own in stores on Tuesday, February 6th from Park Row.