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Historical Fiction December 2018
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A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts
by Therese Anne Fowler
What happens: Alva Smith, penniless but pedigreed, sets her sights on William K. Vanderbilt, heir to a railroad fortune. She soon learns that while money may provide security, it can't buy happiness.
Read it for: a richly detailed depiction of high society life during America's Gilded Age.
You might also like: Karen Harper's American Duchess, about William and Alva's daughter Consuelo.
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Wolves of Eden
by Kevin McCarthy
What it's about: Unable to adjust to civilian life after the American Civil War, brothers Michael and Thomas O’Driscoll reenlist in the U.S. Army and are dispatched to the Dakota territory to construct a fort. Predictably, the Lakota are not pleased about this development.
Why you might like it: Wolves of Eden offers a bleak and visceral account of frontier life during the era of American Westward Expansion.
You might also like: Robert Olmstead's Savage Country.
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Miss Kopp just won't quit
by Amy Stewart
In 1916, New Jersey’s first female deputy, Constance Kopp, while trying to investigate two cases involving the same asylum, finds her controversial career on the line. By the New York Times best-selling author of Girl Waits With Gun.
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The Queen's colonial
by Peter Watt
1845, Sydney. Humble blacksmith Ian Steele struggles to support his widowed mother. All the while he dreams of a life in uniform, serving in Queen Victoria's army. 1845, Puketutu. Second Lieutenant Samuel Forbes, a young poet from an aristocratic English family, wants nothing more than to run from the advancing Maori warriors and discard the officer's uniform he never sought. When the two men cross paths in the colony of New South Wales, they are struck by their brotherly resemblance and quickly hatch a plan for Ian to take Samuel's place in the British army. Ian must travel to England, fool the treacherous Forbes family and accept a commission into their regiment as a company commander. Once in London, he finds love with an enigmatic woman, but must part with her to face battle in the bloody Crimean war.
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The butcher's daughter
by Victoria Glendinning
Rescued from a cloistered life by her high intelligence, Agnes grapples with the complex rules of the Tudor era as the subjugation of women and religious houses strips her of her home and forces her to survive by her wits.
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Major Tom's War
by Vee Walker
Major Tom's War is a powerful account of the impact of WWI on a doomed generation and on one Indian Army cavalry officer in particular. Why is Bengal-born solicitor Tom Westmacott desperate to flee Calcutta in 1914? And why does Evie Winnington-Ingram, who has good cause to hate him, agree to his proposal of marriage?
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The Kennedy debutante
by Kerri Maher
"A riveting novel following the exploits of Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, the little known and rebellious daughter of America's royal family. London, 1938. The effervescent It Girl of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kick moves in rarified circles--dancing and drinking champagne at the hottest nightclubs and attending the horse races with nobility. As WWII looms, she is ripped away from the country she has grown to love and the man who has stolen her heart. Returning to the States, Kick throws herself into making a difference. Becoming a journalist gives her a voice--and a chance to step out of the shadows of her accomplished brothers, including the charismatic Jack. Then as America is drawn into the war, Kick will discover where her true loyalties lie--with family or with love.."
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Call of the curlew
by ELizabeth Brooks
In 1939, Virginia is ten, an orphan arriving to meet her new adoptive parents, Clem and Lorna Wrathmell, at their mysterious house, Salt Winds. The house sits right on the edge of a vast marsh, a beautiful but dangerous place. It's the start of a new life for Virginia, but she quickly senses that all is not right between Clem and Lorna - in particular, the presence of their wealthy neighbour Max Deering, who takes an unhealthy interest in the family. When a German fighter plane crashes into the marsh, Clem ventures onto the deadly sands to rescue the airman. And that is when things really begin to go wrong...
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| House of Thieves by Charles BelfoureWhat it's about: Architect John Cross attempts to save his family from financial and social ruin by joining the crime syndicate known as "Kent's Gents" and using his insider knowledge of Manhattan's buildings to plan and execute daring robberies.
Why you might like it: This fast-paced, suspenseful story by the author of The Paris Architect depicts both the high society and the criminal underworld of 1886 New York City.
You might also like: Carson Morton's historical caper novel Stealing Mona Lisa. Or, for a true account of a Gilded Age architect who turns to a life of crime, try J. North Conway's King of Heists. |
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| The Devil's Half Mile by Paddy HirschThe setting: New York City in 1799.
Starring: attorney Justice "Justy" Flanagan, whose investigation into his father's death draws him into a web of conspiracy and threatens to ignite a financial panic.
For fans of: the atmosphere and rich historical detail of Lyndsay Faye's Gods of Gotham; the financial and political intrigue of David Liss' The Whiskey Rebels. |
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| The Long Drop by Denise MinaGlasgow, 1958: two men embark on an all-night pub crawl: William Watt, who stands accused of murdering his entire family, and criminal Peter Manuel, who hints that he has evidence that will lead to the real killer.
Read it for: a strong sense of place, a subtle subversion of crime fiction tropes, and a penetrating look at class and gender roles.
About the author: Best known for her gritty mysteries set in modern-day Glasgow, Denise Mina takes the plunge into historical crime fiction with this novel based on real events. |
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| Sutton by J.R. MoehringerWhat happens: Released in 1969 after a 17-year stretch behind bars, charismatic bank robber Willie Sutton tours New York City with a reporter and a photographer in tow, reminiscing about the good old days.
About the author: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist J.R. Moehringer is also the author of a memoir, The Tender Bar.
Did you know? The real Willie Sutton penned two memoirs, I, Willie Sutton, and Where the Money Was, in which he recounts the highlights of his criminal career. |
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| See What I Have Done by Sarah SchmidtWhat it's about: Lizzie Borden took an axe...and, well, we all know what happened next. Or do we?
Why you might like it: This unsettling debut tells the story from the (conflicting) perspectives of Lizzie, her elder sister, a maid in the Borden household, and a stranger whose surprising connection to the crime is gradually revealed.
For fans of: Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace. |
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| The Paying Guests by Sarah WatersThe situation: To maintain their upper-middle-class lifestyle in 1920s London, 27-year-old "spinster" Frances Wray and her widowed mother must take in lodgers.
What happens next: Their first "paying guests" arrive, working-class married couple Leonard and Lillian Barber. Frances soon begins an affair with lovely Lillian, setting off a tragic chain of events.
About the author: Sarah Waters specializes in suspenseful and sensual historical novels steeped in atmosphere and rich in period detail. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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