It takes a skilled writer to transform history into art by placing humanity’s flesh and blood onto a factual skeleton. Such works make reality more interesting and accessible and the writer is thereby fulfilling a service to others. Ann Beltran gives mid-19th century America this treatment in Faith on the Mall, a novel about three siblings living on the National Mall in what was then called Washington City, now Washington, DC. This is an excellent novel whose biggest strengths are its prose and its character analysis. It will be of interest to anyone who enjoys early American history with a sentimental touch.