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Historical Fiction February 2018
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| Carnegie's Maid by Marie BenedictWhat it's about: Hired as a lady's maid to Margaret Carnegie, Irish immigrant Clara Kelly becomes the confidant of her mistress' son, wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie. However, their differences in station may doom their budding relationship.
Why you might like it: Carnegie's Maid offers a chaste love story and plenty of upstairs/downstairs drama, as well as a nuanced depiction of the immigrant experience in the rapidly industrializing 1860s United States. |
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| The Girls in the Picture by Melanie BenjaminStarring: Silent film actress Mary Pickford and screenwriter Frances Marion, whose (complicated) friendship underpins their enduring creative partnership.
Read it for: an engaging story anchored by strong female characters, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the early years of America's film industry.
For fans of: Karina Longworth's podcast You Must Remember This, which focuses on both famous and lesser-known figures in Hollywood history. |
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| The War Bride's Scrapbook: A Novel in Pictures by Caroline PrestonWhat it's about: In 1943, after a whirlwind courtship, Lila Jerome elopes with a handsome army engineer just days before he ships out. Magazine clippings, postcards, and other historical memorabilia document Lila's life with and without her husband.
Author alert: Caroline Preston made a splash with The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, which also used carefully curated vintage ephemera to illustrate a young woman's adventures in life and love. |
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| The English Wife by Lauren WilligWhat it's about: Her brother is murdered during a masquerade ball. His glamorous wife is missing. Janie Van Duyvil is determined to discover what happened.
Why you might like it: Parallel narratives, set in Victorian London and Gilded Age New York, blend murder mystery and romantic drama.
Author alert: Best known for her popular Pink Carnation series, author Lauren Willig displays her knack for characterization and twisty plotting to this atmospheric stand-alone. |
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| The Hours Count by Jillian CantorWhat it's about: In 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and executed. Friends and neighbors are shocked: could this ordinary middle-class Jewish-American couple really have sold atomic secrets to the Soviets?
Why you should read it: This haunting novel reveals a dark chapter of 20th-century American history in which anti-Semitism and Cold War paranoia collide with tragic results. |
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| The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs HoffmanFeaturing: Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler, whose union, though loving, proves to be as turbulent as the American Revolution.
Why you should read it: The ten-dollar founding father continues to be a hot topic, thanks to the hit Broadway musical.
You might also like: Susan Holloway Scott's I, Eliza Hamilton, which takes the form of a fictional memoir, or Stephanie Dray's forthcoming My Dear Hamilton, which draws on the couple's correspondence. |
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| Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy HoranStarring: Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, the American divorcée who becomes his wife, collaborator, and traveling companion.
Author alert: Though it's got a happier ending than Loving Frank, Nancy Horan's latest novel also follows a creative couple's scandalous courtship and unconventional love affair.
For fans of: the authentic characters in Erica Robuck's Call Me Zelda or The House of Hawthorne, both of which feature literary couples. |
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| Mrs. Houdini by Victoria KellyWhat it's about: Bess Houdini, widow of famous magician Harry Houdini, reflects on her marriage while searching for the coded messages her husband promised he'd send from the afterlife.
Read it for: an intimate portrait of a marriage that evolves alongside Houdini's rise from vaudeville curiosity to international celebrity.
You might also like: Steven Galloway's The Confabulist, which similarly adds a dash of supernatural intrigue to the life of Houdini. |
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| Villa America by Liza KlaussmannIntroducing: Married American expats Sara and Gerald Murphy, who decamp to the French Riviera in the 1920s and become the center of a social circle that inspires F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel Tender is the Night.
Look for: cameos by Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Pablo Picasso, among other Lost Generation luminaries.
You might also like: Paula McLain's The Paris Wife, whose characters and setting overlap with Villa America's as it depicts another glamorous but troubled marriage between cultural icons. |
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EResources @ Your Library
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Always Available eBooks
These eBooks are always available so you'll never have to wait on a holds list for a title! You can read titles in your browser without having to worry about a checkout period or you can download these eBooks to your computer, laptop, or mobile device and borrow them for a period of 1-14 days, you choose!
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HeritageQuest Online
Search U.S. Federal Census images (1790-1940), genealogy and local history books, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) of genealogy and local history periodicals, pension and bounty land warrant applications from the Revolutionary War, Freedman's Bank Records (1865-1874), and the U.S. Serials Set (1789-present) which records the memorials, petitions and private relief actions made to the U.S. Congress.
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History of Women of Aviation
Tuesday, March 6,
1:30 pm
Southern Oaks Library
Come to the library to learn about the 99s Museum of Women Pilots, that is located on more than 5,000 square feet, occupying the entire second floor of the International Headquarters building at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. It is a repository for a unique collection of the papers, personal items and other historic artifacts of some of the most significant achievements and adventures of the international community of women pilots. Its library and exhibit area provide new insights into the role women pilots played in the development of aviation.Check out our books, magazine and databases while you are in the library.
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The Ravens Three: Celtic Folk Music
Saturday, March 10,
2:00 pm
Northwest Library
Join us to experience the rich heritage of traditional Ireland through the music of the Ravens Three, a Celtic folk band based in Oklahoma City featuring Audra Blankenship-Pierce, Shawna Kennedy, and Russell Pierce. Enjoy the harmonies created with the guitar, fiddle, Irish drum, and penny whistle in the modern and Celtic rooted sound of the Ravens Three.
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Murder Mystery: Murder at the 80's Prom
Saturday, March 31,
2:00 pm
Rooms A-B-C (ABC)
The 80's.the hair is big, the dresses are puffy and the social hierarchy is the stuff John Hughes movies are made of. But when the night turns from magic to murder, participants will be assigned a character in this real-life version of the game Clue. Test your deductive reasoning skills during this murder mystery investigation as you search to find the suspect who had the motive, means and opportunity to commit the Murder at the Prom! Preregistration is required. Age 18 and up. Participants chosen will receive character assignments 5 days in advance by email.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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