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Historical Fiction June 2017
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| The Night She Won Miss America: A Novel by Michael CallahanA modern-day reporter investigates the scandal that engulfed the 1950 Miss America Pageant in this novel by the author of Searching for Grace Kelly. When studious Betty Jane Welch enters the pageant circuit at the behest of her domineering mother, she doesn't expect to win. And no one expects her to disappear. The Night She Won Miss America may appeal to fans of Fiona Davis' The Dollhouse, which also shifts between mid-century and present-day perspectives to reveal the truth behind a decades-old mystery. |
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| Miss Burma by Charmaine CraigIn 1939, Benny, an Anglo-Indian pugilist from Rangoon's Jewish quarter, falls in love with Khin, a Karen woman. Their daughter, Louisa, grows up to be a beauty queen and an unlikely symbol of unity in a divided nation. Based on author Charmaine Craig's own family history, this sweeping saga brings to life a tumultuous half-century in the history of Burma (Myanmar) that includes British colonial rule, World War II and Japanese occupation, independence, and military dictatorship. |
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The Tenth Gift : A Novel
by Jane Johnson
In an expensive London restaurant, Julia Lovat receives a gift that will change her life. At first glance it is a book of exquisite 17th-century embroidery patterns belonging to a woman named Catherine Ann Tregenna. Yet in its margins Julia discovers faintly written diary entries that date back to 1625. They reveal that Catherine and others were stolen from their Cornish church by Muslim pirates and taken on a brutal voyage to Morocco to be auctioned off as slaves. Captivated by this dramatic discovery, Julia sets off to North Africa to determine the authenticity of the book and to uncover more of Catherine’s mesmerizing story. There, in the company of a charismatic Moroccan guide, amid the sultry heat, the spice markets, and exotic ruins, Julia will discover buried secrets. And in Morocco, she will lose her heart just as Catherine did before her.
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| The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence: A Story of Botticelli by Alyssa PalomboShortly after her marriage to a nobleman, Simonetta Vespucci (née Cattaneo) arrives in Florence eager to experience the city's art, scholarship, and culture. Hailed as "la bella Simonetta," she becomes -- thanks to her connection to the powerful Medici family -- the muse of artist Sandro Botticelli and the inspiration for some of his most famous paintings. Fans of Sarah Dunant's The Birth of Venus should enjoy this lush, romantic novel set during the Italian Renaissance. |
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| The Witchfinder's Sister: A Novel by Beth UnderdownWith the English Civil War raging and the country "falling apart at the seams," pregnant widow Alice returns to Manningtree, Essex, to live with her brother, the self-proclaimed "Witchfinder General" Matthew Hopkins. Unfortunately, in her absence Matthew has changed from a sensitive man young man set on joining the clergy to one whose mission in life is to put vulnerable women to death. Inspired by historical events, this compelling novel's leisurely pace builds to a dramatic climax as Alice gradually perceives the danger of the situation. |
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Cocoa Beach
by Beatriz Williams
Virginia Fortescue flees her oppressive home in New York City for the battlefields of World War I France. As the war rages, Virginia falls into a passionate affair with the dashing Captain Simon Fitzwilliam, only to discover that his past has its own dark secrets—secrets that will damage their eventual marriage and propel her back across the Atlantic to the sister and father she left behind. Five years later, in the early days of Prohibition, the newly widowed Virginia Fitzwilliam arrives in the tropical boomtown of Cocoa Beach, Florida, to settle her husband’s estate. Virginia does not believe Simon perished in the fire that destroyed the seaside home he built. Virginia plans to uncover the truth, for the sake of the daughter Simon never met. Simon’s brother and sister introduce her to a dazzling new world of citrus groves, white beaches, bootleggers, and Prohibition agents, but the more she learns about Simon and his mysterious business interests, the more she fears that the dangers that surrounded Simon now threaten her and their daughter’s life as well.
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| The Movement of Stars by Amy BrillAn oddity in her 19th-century Quaker community, 24-year-old amateur astronomer Hannah Price searches the skies above Nantucket with her telescope each night in the hope of discovering a new comet. Her father expects her to marry (and soon!), but Hannah only cares about astronomy -- until she meets Isaac Martin, a black sailor from the Azores who asks Hannah to teach him the science of navigation. Loosely based on the life of Maria Mitchell, the first American woman to become a professional astronomer, The Movement of Stars is a thought-provoking and dramatic story. |
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| The Stargazer's Sister: A Novel by Carrie Brown"Save me," Caroline Herschel begs elder brother William, who rescues her from their family's home in Hanover, Germany and brings her to England to serve as his housekeeper and assistant. Together, they build an observatory with a 40-foot telescope and set to work cataloging the stars. But when William weds a wealthy widow, Caroline -- unmarried, penniless, and now homeless -- must make her own way in the world after a lifetime of serving others. Based on the life of groundbreaking 18th-century scientist Caroline Herschel, The Stargazer's Sister is a richly detailed novel about Europe's first female professional astronomer. |
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| The Lieutenant: A Novel by Kate GrenvilleEighteenth-century English lieutenant Daniel Rooke is gifted at astronomy and mathematics, but hopeless when it comes to interacting with people. The one exception is his surprising friendship with Tagaran, a young Aboriginal girl whom Daniel meets when his ship, the HMS Resolution, arrives in New South Wales, Australia. While his intent is to build an observatory to search for an elusive comet, Daniel soon becomes fascinated by the life and language of Tagaran's people -- to the dismay of both of their cultures. Kate Grenville's novel of Australian history serves as a companion book to her previous novel, the Commonwealth Writer's Prize-winning The Secret River. |
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