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Historical Fiction February 2017
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Belgravia
by Julian Fellowes
Two families must guard a secret that originates at a legendary ball on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo In this sweeping and rich historical novel from the creator and writer of Downton Abbey.
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Only Beloved
by Mary Balogh
Relinquishing all hope to marry after a family scandal, Dora Debbins, a lonely music teacher, finds her life forever changed by the arrival of the Duke of Stanbrook, who, unable to forget their meeting a year ago, makes her dreams come true. By a New York Times best-selling author.
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The Tumbling Turner Sisters
by Juliette Fay
When their boot-stitcher father loses his job after a debilitating injury, the Turner sisters and their mother support themselves by performing on the vaudeville stage, where they confront dangers and turns of fate from the seamier side of the business.
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| Victoria by Daisy GoodwinIn 1837, 18-year-old Princess Alexandrina Victoria of the House of Hanover becomes Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. No one expects much from a sheltered teenager who collects dolls and still shares a room with her overbearing mother. But Victoria, determined to become the monarch her people deserve, sets out to prove herself as a ruler, aided by Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, who becomes her adviser and confidant. Fans of royalty-themed reads won't want to miss this novel by American Heiress author Daisy Goodwin, who also penned the screenplay for current Masterpiece Theatre miniseries Victoria. |
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| Who Killed Piet Barol? A Novel by Richard MasonPiet Barol, the charming libertine first introduced in History of a Pleasure Seeker, is a Dutch con artist posing as a French aristocrat. Currently living in South Africa's Cape Colony, Barol recruits two Xhosa men to help him source mahogany for the creation of high-end furniture, a task made easier by The Natives Land Act, which strips black South Africans of their property rights. Obsession and greed lead to tragedy in this novel, which places flawed and fascinating characters in a lush and richly detailed African setting. |
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| City of Women: A Novel by David R. GillhamSigrid Schröder is the perfect wife, or so it appears. Married to a soldier fighting on the front lines, she lives in Berlin with her mother-in-law and works as a stenographer. However, she also pines for her married lover while helping her neighbors shelter Jewish families from the Gestapo. Focusing on Sigrid's inner life and the moral dilemmas she faces, City of Women is an introspective but dramatic story of an ordinary individual's resistance to authoritarian government. |
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| The Kommandant's Girl by Pam JenoffWhen the Nazis invade Poland, Jewish librarian Emma Bau risks her life to aid the resistance, assuming a false identity as a gentile while her activist husband Jacob goes into hiding. As Anna Lipowski, she becomes the personal assistant to a high-ranking Nazi official, Kommandant Georg Richwalder, hoping to secure information that will help the cause. But Richwalder is hardly the monster Emma expects him to be, and their growing intimacy threatens to jeopardize everything -- her work for the resistance, her marriage, and even her life. If you enjoy The Kommandant's Girl, you may want to read The Diplomat's Wife, which takes place after the war and features some of the same characters. |
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| Mission to Paris: A Novel by Alan FurstArriving in Paris in 1938, Frederic Stahl, a Hollywood star on loan from Warner Bros. to a French studio, soon finds himself wooed by the "political warfare" branch of the Nazi progaganda machine. Born and raised in Vienna but naturalized in the U.S., Stahl has always steered clear of politics. However, his unease with the growing influence of the Third Reich in France and his distaste for being used prompts him to try his hand at espionage. Fans of noir-tinged historical spy fiction should enjoy this atmospheric stand-alone 12th installment of Alan Furst's Night Soldiers series. |
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| The Paris Architect: A Novel by Charles BelfoureIn 1942, Parisian architect Lucien Bernard accepts a lucrative commission from a wealthy businessman to design a secret room for the purpose of hiding Jewish fugitives from the Gestapo. Although Lucien has no particular love for the city's Jewish population, he loathes the occupying Germans and thrives on the challenge of deceiving them (the money doesn't hurt, either). But as Lucien's involvement in the scheme grows, he learns that no one can be trusted, not even those closest to him. Fans of suspenseful historical fiction set in Vichy France and featuring artists may also be interested in Paul Watkins' The Forger, in which a young American expatriate forges paintings to undermine the Third Reich. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Avon Lake Public Library 32649 Electric Blvd. Avon Lake, Ohio 44012 440-933-8128alpl.org |
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