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Historical Fiction May 2017
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| Jerzy by Jerome CharynA Polish refugee turned literary sensation, Jerzy Kosiński gains fame in the mid-1960s for his best-selling novels The Painted Bird and Being There and quickly climbs the social ladder by charming his way into the right circles. But is he really who and what he claims to be? Multiple narrators -- including Peter Sellers' chauffeur, Joseph Stalin's daughter, and a dominatrix known as Anna Karenina -- recount Kosiński's rise and fall as cracks appear in his carefully crafted facade. Author Jerome Charyn, who revealed the inner lives of iconic Americans in his previous novels, The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson and I Am Abraham, uncovers the hidden layers of an enigmatic personality. |
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| The Drowning King by Emily HollemanThis sequel to Cleopatra's Shadows opens with Egyptian ruler Ptolemy XII Auletes ("the Piper") on his deathbed as his surviving children, waiting in the wings, conspire against him and each other. Favorite daughter Cleopatra surpasses her siblings in intelligence and ambition, but her younger brother has the support of powerful advisers. Meanwhile, the Roman Empire seeks to consolidate its power by bringing Egypt under its rule. Dysfunctional family dynamics and courtly intrigue lead to the downfall of a dynasty in this 2nd book of the Fall of Egypt trilogy. Readers interested in the legendary Queen of the Nile may enjoy Stacy Schiff's biography Cleopatra, which gives ample historical context. |
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| Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Crystal KingMost Roman slaves are bought for a pittance; talented chef Thrasius has just been purchased for the unbelievable sum of 20,000 denarii by renowned gourmand Marcus Gavius Apicius. As Apicius' coquus (cook), Thrasius must create sumptuous spreads for his master's wealthy and influential guests. Such feasts are a key component of Apicius' strategy to achieve his cherished ambition of becoming Augustus Caesar's gastronomic advisor. But Apicius has as many rivals and enemies as he does supporters. Will his lust for fame and glory lead to his (and Thrasius') downfall? In addition to domestic and political drama, this debut also contains well-researched details of ancient Roman culinary traditions. |
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The stars are fire
by Anita Shreve
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Weight of Water and The Pilot's Wife (an Oprah's Book Club selection): an exquisitely suspenseful new novel about an extraordinary young woman tested by a catastrophic event and its devastating aftermath--based on the true story of the largest fire in Maine's history. In October 1947, after a summer long drought, fires break out all along the Maine coast from Bar Harbor to Kittery and are soon racing out of control from town to village. Five months pregnant, Grace Holland is left alone to protect her two toddlers when her husband, Gene, joins the volunteer firefighters. Along with her best friend, Rosie, and Rosie's two young children, Grace watches helplessly as their houses burn to the ground, the flames finally forcing them all into the ocean as a last resort. The women spend the night frantically protecting their children, and in the morning find their lives forever changed: homeless, penniless, awaiting news of their husbands' fate, and left to face an uncertain future in a town that no longer exists. In the midst of this devastating loss, Grace discovers glorious new freedoms--joys and triumphs she could never have expected her narrow life with Gene could contain--and her spirit soars. And then the unthinkable happens--and Grace's bravery is tested as never before.
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| Before the War by Fay WeldonAlthough ungainly, socially awkward Vivien "Vivvie" Ripple seems destined to remain a spinster (despite her family's wealth) in 1922 London, an unplanned pregnancy requires that she find a husband, any husband. She proposes a marriage of convenience to Sherwyn Sexton, an aspiring novelist and editor at her father's publishing house -- prompting her scheming socialite mother, Adela, to intervene. Indeed, the vain and ruthless Adela will upstage her daughter in this sardonic, slyly metafictional novel. Fans of family sagas (and scandals) that take place in England between the wars may also enjoy Penny Vincenzi's Spoils of Time trilogy, which begins with No Angel. |
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Pillars of light
by Jane Johnson
In the Syrian city of Akka, Nathanael, a young Jewish doctor, and a Muslim girl called Zohra are about to fall in love, unaware that Jerusalem has just been taken by Saladin's army and that their city will soon be engulfed by war. Meanwhile in England, John Savage, a foundling boy, runs away from his cruel life in a priory with The Moor, a mysterious man driven by a dream of perfection. John and The Moor become members of a band of conmen travelling through the English countryside faking religious miracles for cash, until they are recruited in Richard the Lionheart's drive to regain the Latin Kingdom from the infidel. Akka awaits. It will be the site of the greatest--and cruellest--siege of its time. But even in the midst of war, lovers find ways to maketransactions of beauty.
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| The Siege Winter: A Novel by Ariana Franklin and Samantha NormanSet during the 12th-century war of succession between Empress Matilda and King Stephen, this novel focuses on ordinary individuals caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Mercenary and arbalist Gwilherm de Vannes rescues peasant girl Em from a brutal assault; Em disguises herself as a boy and becomes apprentice archer Penda as the pair hunts down her attackers. Their paths soon cross that of 16-year-old Maud of Kenniford, reluctant wife to an ailing lord, who offers her castle as safe haven to Empress Matilda and soon finds herself and her household in the midst of a siege. Begun by the late Ariana Franklin and completed by her daughter, Samantha Norman, this suspenseful, intricately plotted novel stands on its own but is loosely connected to Franklin's Adelia Aguilar series (beginning with Mistress of the Art of Death). |
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The girl from Venice
by Martin Cruz Smith
The highly anticipated new standalone novel from Martin Cruz Smith, whom The Washington Post has declared "that uncommon phenomenon: a popular and well-regarded crime novelist who is also a writer of real distinction," The Girl from Venice is a suspenseful World War II love story set against the beauty, mystery, and danger of occupied Venice. Venice, 1945. The war may be waning, but the city known as La Serenissima is still occupied and the people of Italy fear the power of the Third Reich. One night, under a canopy of stars, a fisherman named Cenzo comes across a young woman's body floating in the lagoon and soon discovers that she is still alive and in trouble. Born to a wealthy Jewish family, Giulia is on the run from the Wehrmacht SS. Cenzo chooses to protect Giulia rather than hand her over to the Nazis. This act of kindness leads them into the world of Partisans, random executions, the arts of forgery and high explosives, Mussolini's broken promises, the black market and gold, and, everywhere, the enigmatic maze of the Venice Lagoon. The Girl from Venice is a thriller, a mystery, and a retelling of Italian history that will take your breath away. Most of all it is a love story.
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