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Historical Fiction April 2017
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| The Hollywood Daughter: A Novel by Kate AlcottJessica "Jesse" Malloy's father is a PR executive for Selznick International Pictures; her mother is a devout Catholic homemaker who disapproves of the film industry. These worldviews clash when Jesse's idol, glamorous starlet Ingrid Bergman, begins an affair with married Italian director Roberto Rossellini -- a scandal that places her father's career, her parents' marriage, and the family's livelihood in jeopardy. Although it's set in the 1950s instead of the 1930s, this coming-of-age story by the author of A Touch of Stardust may appeal to fans of Adriana Trigiani's All the Stars in the Heavens, which also features a young Catholic woman who observes a Hollywood scandal and the moral hypocrisy that accompanies it. |
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4 3 2 1
by Paul Auster
A single child born in 1947 experiences four parallel lifetimes poignantly marked by shifting family fortunes, athletic pursuits, friendships, sex, intellectual passions and the same intriguing woman. By the best-selling author of Winter Journal.
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The butcher's hook
by Janet Ellis
In the wake of the death of her infant brother in 18th-century Georgian London, 19-year-old Anne Jaccob is determined to marry a butcher's apprentice, no matter what her ailing mother and uncaring father think.
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Little deaths : a novel
by Emma Flint
A gripping suspense tale set in 1960s New York and inspired by true events follows the investigation of a cocktail waitress whose two young children have been brutally murdered and a rookie tabloid reporter who would uncover the truth. A first novel. 25,000 first printing.
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| The Confessions of Young Nero: A Novel by Margaret GeorgeLucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was born to rule. At least, that's what his mother believes, though it must be noted that Agrippina, a woman with a penchant for poisoning her husbands, may not be the most reliable judge of character. Still, Lucius -- an intelligent, sensitive boy who loves music and chariot races -- can only be an improvement over his uncle, Caligula. Lucius strives to distance himself from his relatives even as he benefits from Agrippina's scheming: by age 16, he's Emperor Nero. However, he quickly discovers that staying in power requires a certain amount of ruthlessness. This novel by the author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra is an unusual coming-of-age story that imagines the life of a notorious ruler. |
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The Dressmaker's Dowry
by Meredith Jaeger
A modern-day writer in San Francisco stumbles across the story of a local, immigrant dressmaker in 1876 who disappeared under mysterious circumstances and who may be connected to her through an heirloom engagement ring in her husband’s family.
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The wicked city
by Beatriz Williams
A follow-up to A Certain Age traces a scandalous Jazz Age love triangle involving a rugged Prohibition agent, a saucy redheaded flapper and a debonair Princetonian from a wealthy family. 100,000 first printing.
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| Island Beneath the Sea: A Novel by Isabel AllendeZarité -- better known as Tété -- is the slave of Toulouse Valmorain, a wealthy sugarcane planter in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. Although Tété loathes her master, her fears for the safety of their children and his promises of manumission prompt her to help him escape during the Haitian Revolution. She flees with Valmorain and the children to Cuba, and then to New Orleans, where, she soon discovers, her troubles are only beginning. Lush and steamy, Island Beneath the Sea presents a dramatic family saga grounded in rich historical detail and vivid descriptions of 18th-century life in Haiti and Louisiana. |
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| A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon JamesInspired by the attempted assassination of musician Bob Marley on December 3, 1976, this novel by the author of The Book of Night Women explores Jamaica's turbulent history through multiple, intersecting narratives that introduce more than a dozen characters. Framed as an oral history, A Brief History of Seven Killings features a diverse cast, an evocative and richly detailed setting, and a sprawling story told by a chorus of distinct voices in pitch-perfect dialogue. |
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| Conquistadora: A Novel by Esmeralda SantiagoGloriosa Ana María de los Ángeles Larragoity Cubillas Nieves de Donostia -- better known as "Ana" -- longs for a life of adventure that neither her convent school nor her respectable parents will provide. Inspired by the exploits of her conquistador ancestors, Ana marries Ramon Argosas and accompanies him and his twin brother to Puerto Rico, where they'll be managing a sugar plantation. An ambitious and savvy businesswoman, Ana is soon running the place, coping with challenges ranging from hurricanes to cholera outbreaks to slave revolts. This sprawling saga, which Publishers Weekly calls "a Puerto Rican Gone With the Wind," boasts a fascinatingly complex, if not always sympathetic, heroine. |
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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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