Joanna Shupe
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joannashupe.bsky.social
Joanna Shupe
@joannashupe.bsky.social
2.1K followers 790 following 170 posts
USA Today bestselling historical author. Upcoming --> The Gilded Heiress, August 26, 2025

www.joannashupe.com
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joannashupe.bsky.social
My historical newsletter this week is about no-fault divorce, which is under attack in 2025, and what that meant in the 19th century.
Joannashupe.com/newsletter
An image with text Divorced in the 19th Century, Fault-based Divorce
September 12, 2025 at 2:29 AM
joannashupe.bsky.social
Do you like the move Anastasia? (Dimitri. Enough said!)

What about a road trip romance?

What about a “kiss me so I’ll calm down” moment?

Only one sleigh?

THE GILDED HEIRESS is out now!
joannashupe.com/the-gilded-h...

#booksky #gildedage #newrelease
An iPad, an iPhone, and a paperback image of The Gilded Heiress
August 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
TOMORROW. joannashupe.com/the-gilded-h... #booksky #historicalromance #gildedage
Paperback of the gilded heiress by Joanna Shupe. On sale 08.26.25 Dimitri from Anastasia on a yellow background with the word “vibes” An image of the gilded heiress by Joanna Shupe with the tropes: he falls first, non-billionaires, opens with a bang, only one sled
August 25, 2025 at 2:52 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
BOOK TOUR ALERT 🚨 I’m so excited to see histrom lovers in the wild! #booksky
August 2, 2025 at 6:43 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
Each week I do a "Comparisons to the Gilded Age" newsletter. Last week: the First Federal Income Tax. Touched on tariffs, too!
Subscribe to my weekly historical newsletter here: subscribepage.io/mad-wicked-folly
The First Federal Income Tax. Before Federal Income Tax. As I've discussed before, there were a few attempts to create an income tax in the U.S. Once was during the Civil War, to help fund the war efforts, but was repealed immediately after the war ended. The second was in 1894, when wealth inequality was out of control. Grover Cleveland's income tax hit only the rich, imposing a 2% tax on incomes above $4,000. (In todav's money $4,000 = $148,743.) Less than 1% of the U.S. population qualified for this tax. In 1895 the Supreme Court ruled this income tax unconstitutional. Not on principle, but rather the manner in which the tax was applied to rents, dividends and interest.
April 19, 2025 at 6:17 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
Many states (FL, KS) are rolling back child labor laws to fill the gaps in the workforce caused by immigration crackdowns. Sound familiar? Welcome to the 19th century.

I wrote about this in my latest Our Mad Wicked Folly newsletter.

Learn more here: subscribepage.io/mad-wicked-folly
Child Labor: Welcome to the Jungle Child Labor In the 19th-century most children were required to earn their keep. Unless you were of the wealthy class, your family didn't have enough money to feed and cloth you without assistance. Many children held positions in all types of businesses, from manufacturing plants and newsies, to mills and coal mines. "By 1900, more than 1.75 million American children under the age of 15 worked for wages in industrial jobs. Ten years later, the total surpassed 2 million. That was more than 1 in 5 children under the age of 15." These numbers didn't include children working in the home or on the family farm.
April 2, 2025 at 7:50 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
My "Our Mad Wicked Folly" newsletter this week discusses the first march on Washington in 1894. An Ohio man named Jacob Coxey led a massive wave of unemployed Americans to the nation's capitol to demand the government give them jobs.

Subscribe: joannashupe.com/newsletter/

#historysky
March 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
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You’ve been patient, little mouse.
You deserve a reward, don’t you think?

subscribepage.io/uhY4rj

IFKYK 😉

*Bonus Epilogue for newsletter subscribers only. If you're already subscribed, just sign up again and the bonus epilogue will be sent to you.
March 15, 2025 at 1:41 PM
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This week's newsletter focused on Stanford White and Evelyn Nesbit. Whew, what absolute trash that man was.

Join my newsletter list for a weekly comparison of our modern hellscape to the 19th century. joannashupe.com/newsletter/
#booksky
March 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
🔥 Chirp deal for The Devil of Downtown!! www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/t...
March 5, 2025 at 2:13 PM
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Sharing the slice of joy that is this Little Free Library in my hometown. 😍😍😍
February 25, 2025 at 5:19 PM
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Hello @mapquest.com ! It’s been a minute, but I’m ready to get back together. 💝💘
February 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
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Today's Mad Wicked Folly newsletter focuses on the Spoils System of the 1800s. You know, where you gave government jobs to your cronies in exchange for $$ or help getting elected.
preview.mailerlite.io/preview/4792...

Subscribe here: joannashupe.com/newsletter
The Spoils System "To the Victor Belong the Spoils" Do you have friends and relatives? Would you like to work with them? Yeah, me too. But when it comes to government, your friends usually aren't the most qualified for a particular job. (No offense. I'm sure they're all brilliant.) In the early days of the U.S., this is what happened. Government jobs were given to friends or relatives as perks or rewards. In exchange for promises kept. *wink wink* There was little to no effort to base the decision on who might actually do the job, you know, competently. This was called the Spoils System, with the name derived from the phrase "to the victor belong the spoils" said by New York Senator William L. Marcy in reference to the 1828 victory of Andrew Jackson. Jackson didn't start the Spoils System—Washington, Jefferson and Adams all did this to some degree—but he definitely perfected it.
February 11, 2025 at 5:47 PM
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Do you like sales? Do you like historical romance? Do you like Anastasia? Want to read a book about two horny Gilded Age hustlers who are searching for their identities?

Preorder THE GILDED HEIRESS over on B&N. Feb 5-7 only.

bit.ly/4guNEKH

TGH releases August 26, 2025. #booksky #romancelandia
Paperback of The Gilded Heiress with the text: Barnes & Noble 25% off Preorders, february 5-7 online only. Code: Preorder25
February 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
New historical newsletter out this week exploring tariffs and McKinley. Subscribe—> joannashupe.com/newsletter #historysky #booksky
January 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
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I have more historical romance eBooks on sale right now! Available at your favorite retailer. Warning: these are 🔥 #booksky
Three book covers by Joanna Shupe, The Heiress Hunt, The Lady Gets Lucky, The Devil of Downtown--and all three eBooks are on sale for 1.99 The cover of The Heiress Hunt, with the tropes: friends to lovers, epic pining, she's a tennis pro, house party vibes, the Duke of Lockwood A cover of The Lady Gets Lucky with the tropes in the story: kissing lessons, rake and wallflower, she's a chef, virgin heroine, the Duke of Lockwood A cover of The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe, with the tropes in the story: historical kingpin, good girl & bad boy, bowling, virgin heroine, he falls first
January 27, 2025 at 1:05 AM
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January 17, 2025 at 6:51 PM
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🗣 Hey! We are a week away from me and @alexandravasti.bsky.social at The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn! I'll be gushing about EARL CRUSH to Alexandra and asking all the hard questions (like, zebras?!). Come join us for laughs and to hang with your romance pals.
www.therippedbodice.com/brooklyn-eve...
January 16, 2025 at 1:58 PM
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Another newsletter today, this time about the “new” imperialism of the late 19th c. And only one subscriber told me to keep my politics to myself. Progress, maybe?
JoannaShupe.com/newsletter
January 14, 2025 at 6:44 PM
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--> If you want the weekly newsletter, Our Wicked Folly, which is a historical deep-dive:
joannashupe.com/newsletter/
With all the uncertainty surrounding social media, the best way to stay connected to me is through my newsletter: joannashupe.com/newsletter. You'll get a bonus story upon signing up. After that, you'll get my weekly historical newsletter, Our Wicked Folly, exploring and contrasting the Gilded Age to today.
January 12, 2025 at 3:10 PM
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This would be a first step in making contraception $$$ and hard to get.
January 12, 2025 at 3:19 AM
joannashupe.bsky.social
Another newsletter out this week, this time looking at ANOTHER insurrection, the Wilmington Massacre of 1898.

You can subscribe here:
Joannashupe.com/newsletter
January 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM
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✨ Coming this summer. ✨
On NetGalley for reviewer request. @avonbooks.bsky.social
January 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM
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New newsletter out today on comparing wealth inequality between the Gilded Age and today. (Yes, I did misspell Ronald Reagan’s name.) 🤦🏼‍♀️ Sign up for future issues:
Joannashupe.com/newsletter
December 30, 2024 at 2:14 PM
joannashupe.bsky.social
New historical deep-dive newsletter out today, looking at the bicycle and why it's such an important tool of feminism. #historicalromance #romancelandia

Join my list here: joannashupe.com/newsletter/
December 17, 2024 at 4:45 PM