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Historical Fiction November 2017
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| The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill by Jim FergusIn this sequel to One Thousand White Women, participants in a federal "Brides for Indians" program have lost their Cheyenne husbands in a brutal attack by the U.S. Army. The Vengeance of Mothers describes the experiences of two widowed sisters and their rebellion against the U.S. government, interspersing their diary entries with accounts of the events up to the Great Sioux War of 1876. |
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| Caroline: Little House, Revisited by Sarah Elizabeth MillerReports of abundant land in Kansas Territory convince Charles Ingalls that his family's future lies west of the Mississippi. His (pregnant) wife Caroline is apprehensive, but dutifully packs up their belongings and prepares for a 700-mile covered wagon journey. Authorized by the Little House literary estate, Caroline unfolds from the perspective of Ma Ingalls; the narrative bridges the events of Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie, in case you're inspired to revisit the original series. |
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| The Boat Runner: A Novel by Devin MurphyThe son of a successful Dutch industrialist, 14-year-old Jacob Koopman enjoys a privileged upbringing that includes sailing lessons and...a summer at Hitler Youth Camp? Jacob's father, eager to cultivate business contacts, encourages his sons to embrace German culture -- until Holland is invaded and the Koopman family loses everything. Should they flee the country? Collaborate with the Nazis? Join the resistance? There are no easy answers in this dramatic coming-of-age story. |
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| Unforgivable Love: A Retelling of Dangerous Liaisons by Sophfronia ScottSet in 1947 Harlem, this retelling of Les Liaisons Dangereuses centers around a pact between scheming heiress Mae Malveaux and charming nightclub owner Valiant "Val" Jackson: if Val seduces Cecily, Mae's virginal cousin and the fiancée of her ex-lover, Mae will sleep with him. However, Cecily has fallen in love with a jazz musician, while Val's got his eye on Elisabeth Thompson, a married woman who believes (wrongly) that Val can be redeemed. The stage is set for high society scandal. |
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The Women in the Castle: A Novel
by Jessica Shattuck
Once a fashionable gathering place for Germany's smart set, the Bavarian castle of Burg Lingenfels is now, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, a crumbling ruin. This character-driven novel follows Marianne von Lingenfels, who offers shelter to Benita Fledermann and Ania Grabarek, the widows of men who fought for the resistance alongside her late husband. Their harrowing experiences forge strong bonds of friendship, but changing circumstances introduce tensions that will tear them apart. With its flawed characters and unflinching examination of the moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people living under authoritarian regimes, this novel may appeal to readers who enjoyed Maria Hummel's Motherland.
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A taste for nightshade
by Martine Bailey
Manchester 1809. When budding young criminal Mary Jebb swindles Michael Croxton's brother with a blank pound note, he chases her into the night and sets in motion a train of sinister events. Condemned to seven years of transportation to Australia, Mary sends him a 'Penny Heart'-a token of her vow of revenge. Two years later, Michael marries naive young Grace Moore. Although initially overjoyed at the union, Grace quickly realizes that her husband is more interested in her fortune than her company. Lonely and desperate for companionship, she turns to her new cook to help mend her ailing marriage. But Mary Jebb, shipwrecked, tortured, and recently hired, has different plans for the unsuspecting owners of Delafosse Hall. A Taste for Nightshade is a thrilling historical novel that combines recipes, mystery and a dark struggle between two desperate women, sure to appeal to fans of Sarah Waters and Carolly Erickson.
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The devil's feast
by Miranda Carter
Investigative team Blake and Avery find themselves entangled in a case involving political conflicts, personal vendettas, and England's first celebrity chef. London, 1842. Captain William Avery is persuaded to investigate a mysterious and horrible death at the Reform, London's newest and grandest gentleman's club--a death the club is desperate to hush up. What he soon discovers is a web of rivalries and hatreds, both personal and political, simmering behind the club's handsome facade. At the center is its resident genius, Alexis Soyer, "the Napoleon of food," a chef whose culinary brilliance is matched only by his talent for self-publicity. But Avery is distracted, for where is his mentor and partner in crime Jeremiah Blake? And what if this first death is only a dress rehearsal for something far more sinister?
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| The Arrangement by Ashley WarlickUnfulfilled in her marriage to academic Al Fisher, aspiring writer Mary Frances Kennedy pursues married painter Dillywn "Tim" Parrish -- who, unlike Al, supports her literary ambitions while satisfying her physical desires. Set in 1930s Los Angeles, Paris, and the Swiss Alps, this lush and atmospheric biographical novel stars pioneering food writer M.F.K. Fisher, of whom W.H. Auden once said, "I do not know of anyone in the United States who writes better prose." For another fictionalized account of a real-life love triangle, try Lily King's Euphoria, inspired by the life of anthropologist Margaret Mead. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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