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Historical Fiction January 2018
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| Mrs. Osmond: A Novel by John BanvilleStarring: Isabel Archer, heroine of The Portrait of a Lady, in a sequel to Henry James' classic novel.
Book buzz: Critics are raving about this "superb Henry James pastiche" (The Guardian), an "epochal act of imitation, salutation, and imagination" (NPR) that evokes "James's limpid prose, deft plotting, and finely limned characterization" (Library Journal, starred review).
You might also like: Colm Tóibín's The Master, an introspective novel that examines Henry James' personal life. |
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| Enchantress of Numbers: A Novel of Ada Lovelace by Jennifer ChiaveriniIntroducing: Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace: the mathematician (and daughter of Romantic poet Lord Byron) who's widely considered to be the first computer programmer.
Why you might like it: This fictional memoir illuminates Ada's complicated personal life as well as her professional partnerships with Charles Babbage and Mary Somerville.
Try this next: Joan Spicci's Beyond the Limit, about Sofya Kovalevskaya, stars another unconventional 19th-century woman mathematician. |
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| The Last Man in Europe by Dennis GloverWhat it is: A fictionalized account of the last decade of writer Eric Blair's (a.k.a. George Orwell's) life, which reveals the events and experiences that influenced some of the author's best-known works.
Why you might like it: This compelling novel places its complex protagonist in a race against time (and tuberculosis) as he struggles to finish Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
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| Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors by Conn IgguldenWhat it's about: This concluding volume of the Wars of the Roses series traces the fall of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors.
For fans of: the intricate dynastic politics of Sharon Kay Penman's historical sagas and the fast-paced, visceral military action of Bernard Cornwell's novels.
You might also like: Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, which depicts this period from the perspective of the women involved. |
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A place called winter
by Patrick Gale
What it's about: A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence - until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything. Forced to abandon his wife and child, Harry signs up for emigration to the newly colonized Canadian prairies. Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before.
For fans of: the journey of self-discovery and epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking.
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| The Anchoress by Robyn CadwalladerWhat it's about: In 1255 England, 17-year-old Sarah becomes an anchoress of the Church of St. Juliana. Confined to a tiny chamber measuring nine by seven paces, Sarah prays that her cell will protect her from life's dangers. Alas, even stone walls can't keep the world at bay.
Want a taste? "Here I will stay forever; this is the home I have chosen."
Try this next: For another lyrical, reflective novel about the life of a medieval anchoress, check out Mary Sharratt's Illuminations, about Hildegard of Bingen. |
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| A Piece of the World: A Novel by Christina Baker KlineFeaturing: Christina Olson, a disabled woman who lives a solitary life on her family's farm in rural Maine before befriending artist Andrew Wyeth and becoming the subject of his iconic painting, "Christina's World."
For fans of: engaging and richly detailed historical novels that imagine the creation of famous artworks, such as Gloria Goldreich's The Bridal Chair or Maureen Gibbon's Paris Red. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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