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Historical Fiction July 2017
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A single spy
by William Christie
A World War II Russian spy with divided loyalties goes deep undercover in Nazi Germany and uncovers an assassination plot with the potential to change history. By the author of The Enemy Inside.
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The duchess : a novel
by Danielle Steel
A tale set in early 19th-century England, Paris and New York follows the endeavors of a noble orphan who, after being thrown out of her ancestral home by a vicious half-sibling, makes her way to Paris, where she takes in abused streetwalkers and transforms them into upper-crust courtesans in an exclusive bordello.
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Kiss Carlo
by Adriana Trigiani
Establishing a stable home and Western Union Telegraph Office in post-World War II Philadelphia, the hardworking Palazzini family is shattered by their nephew's epiphany in the wake of a telegram that changes everything for the citizens of a small Italian-American village. 200,000 first printing.
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The good assassin : a novel
by Paul Vidich
A follow-up to The Good Spy traces a Cold War espionage operation in 1950s Cuba, where foreign powers compete to influence the outcome of a revolution in the hands of a former CIA agent and a renegade with sympathies for rebel forces fighting the Batista regime.
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Anne Boleyn, a king's obsession : a novel
by Alison Weir
A follow-up to Katherine of Aragon finds Henry VIII risking his marriage and the political strategies of Cardinal Wolsey in his obsession to marry Anne Boleyn, who does not welcome the king's advances and loathes the cardinal for breaking her betrothal to Harry Percy.
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Cocoa Beach : a novel
by Beatriz Williams
Fleeing an oppressive home for the battlefields of World War I France, a Red Cross ambulance driver engages in a passionate affair with a dashing army surgeon before dark secrets separate them and eventually lead her on a quest for answers in seaside Virginia. 100,000 first printing.
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| Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa WingateBorn on a shantyboat in the Mississippi River, 12-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings are taken from their impoverished parents by the Tennessee Children's Home Society and placed in a Memphis orphanage. As Rill recounts her struggle to keep her sisters and brother together, present-day scenes hint at the family's fate. Inspired by a real-life scandal in which children stolen from their families were sold to wealthy childless couples, Before We Were Yours is a good bet for fans of Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train. |
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| Miriam: A Novel of Love and the Talmud by Maggie AntonEleventh-century Troyes, France is home to a thriving Jewish community, due in part to the yeshiva founded by Rabbi Salomon ben Isaac, better known as Rashi. Lacking sons, Rashi chose to educate his three daughters, resulting in three intelligent and strong-willed women. Now middle daughter Miriam, a midwife, is determined to become a mohelet. Although she isn't technically violating traditional Jewish law, many in the community believe that women have no role in the covenant of circumcision. This well-researched 2nd book in the Rashi's Daughters series explores Jewish life and culture in medieval Europe. To read about Miriam's sisters check out Joheved and Rachel. |
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| The Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen's Champion by Elizabeth ChadwickA knight who served five English kings, beginning with Henry II, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, makes frequent cameo appearances in historical novels about the Plantagenet period. Here he takes a starring role as the younger son of a minor nobleman who saves the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine and afterwards becomes indispensable to the royal family. If you enjoy The Greatest Knight, try author Elizabeth Chadwick's novels about other members of the Marshal family: William's father is introduced in A Place Beyond Courage; To Defy a King covers his children's generation. |
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| World Without End by Ken FollettTwo centuries after the events of The Pillars of the Earth, which saw the construction of an elaborate Gothic cathedral in the English town of Kingsbridge, the world is a different place. Although the Church still plays a central role in European life, war and plague have shaken the foundations of society. Beginning on All Hallow's Day in the year 1327, four children witness an event that will influence their lives, as well as the future of their country. Like its predecessor, World Without End combines a large ensemble cast, multilayered plot, and well-researched historical details to tell a sweeping family saga. Fans of this series will be pleased to know that book 3, A Column of Fire, will be released in September. |
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| Company of Liars: A Novel by Karen MaitlandIn 1348, nine strangers band together for survival as the plague ravages England. Disfigured relic-peddler Camelot leads the group as each member reveals his or her story. Con man Zophiel exhibits (among other dubious marvels) an embalmed mermaid, although Cygnus, who possesses a swan's wing instead of an arm, is no mere sideshow act. Musician Rodrigo and his apprentice Joffre have been dismissed from their posts, while expectant couple Adela and Osmond flee a community that disapproves of their union. Midwife Pleasance and her albino ward Narigorm round out the cast. Yet as the travelers begin dying, it becomes clear that at least one member of the company harbors a deadly secret in this creepy homage to the Canterbury Tales. |
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| Lionheart by Sharon Kay PenmanThe ranks of Eleanor of Aquitaine's sons, introduced in Devil's Brood, have thinned considerably since three of them attempted to overthrow their father, Henry II. Lionheart, the 1st book in a new series, focuses on one of the surviving sons, King Richard I, "Coeur de Lion," as he launches the Third Crusade. But before he can fight the Saracens in the Holy Land, he must first travel to Sicily to rescue his imprisoned sister and then to Cyprus to wed his bride, Berengaria. Meanwhile, back in England, his brother John has his eye on Richard's throne. Love Lionheart? Check out its sequel, A King's Ransom. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Bedford Public Library
2424 Forest Ridge Dr.
Bedford, Texas 76021
817-952-2350
www.bedfordlibrary.org
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