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Historical Fiction February 2021
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The mystery of Mrs. Christie : a novel
by Marie Benedict
Claiming amnesia after going missing for more than a week in late 1926, up-and-coming mystery author Agatha Christie pens a chilling story that brashly implicates her war-hero husband. By the author of The Other Einstein.
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The Paris library : a novel
by Janet Skeslien Charles
Based on a true story, describes how a lonely, 1980s teenager befriends an elderly neighbor and uncovers her past as a librarian at the American Library in Paris who joined the Resistance when the Nazis arrived. 200,000 first printing.
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The lions of Fifth Avenue : a novel
by Fiona Davis
A New York Public Library superintendent’s wife reevaluates her priorities upon joining a woman’s suffrage group in 1913, decades before her granddaughter’s efforts to save an exhibit expose tragic family secrets. By the best-selling author of The Chelsea Girls.
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The Brideship Wife
by Leslie Howard
England, 1862. Charlotte is somewhat of a wallflower. Shy and bookish, she knows her duty is to marry, but with no dowry, she has little choice in the matter. She can't continue to live off the generosity of her sister Harriet and her wealthy brother-in-law, Charles, whose political aspirations dictate that she make an advantageous match. When Harriet hosts a grand party, Charlotte is charged with winning the affections of one of Charles's colleagues, but before the night is over, her reputation--her one thing of value--is at risk. In the days that follow, rumours begin to swirl. Soon Charles's standing in society is threatened and all that Charlotte has held dear is jeopardized, even Harriet, and Charlotte is forced to leave everything she has ever known in England and embark on a treacherous voyage to the New World.
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Miss Benson's Beetle
by Rachel Joyce
What it's about: In 1950, middle-aged London schoolmarm Margery Benson decides to leave behind her normal life and travel to the Pacific island of New Caledonia in order to pursue her dream: finding a real specimen of the Golden Beetle, a nearly mythological insect she's been obsessed with since childhood.
Read it for: the heartwarming friendship that Margery develops with her unlikely assistant Enid, a young woman with her own dream to pursue during their unusual journey.
Reviewers say: "A delightful book filled with characters for whom readers will root" (Library Journal).
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| A Single Thread by Tracy ChevalierWhat it is: an engaging and bittersweet story of life after loss, and making a place for yourself in a society that seems determined to leave you behind.
Featuring: thirty-eight year-old Violet Speedwell, who, 14 years after she lost her fiancé during the Great War, discovers purpose and healing when she joins a group of women who embroider the seats and kneelers at Winchester Cathedral.
For fans of: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, which also features likeable female characters who find solace and meaning in an unlikely circle of friends. |
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| The After Party by Anton DiSclafaniStarring: rebellious glamour girl Joan Fortier and Cece Buchnan, her "best friend since infancy, her modern-day lady-in-waiting." Inseparable since childhood, the women's complicated bond is unraveled by Joan's increasingly alarming behavior.
Why you might like it: Set amid the debutante balls, cocktail parties, and garden-club luncheons of 1950s Houston, Texas, The After Party boasts in-depth characterizations and strong period atmosphere. |
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| The Pull of the Stars by Emma DonoghueWhat it is: the richly detailed and moving story of three days in a Dublin maternity ward during the worst days of the 1918 Flu Epidemic.
Why you should read it: The moving and well-researched portrait of dedicated but overworked health care workers trying to get through a major disease epidemic is especially poignant and timely.
About the author: Irish novelist and Man Booker finalist Emma Donoghue has written both contemporary and historical fiction including Slammerkin, The Sealed Letter, Room, and Frog Music. |
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| Lost Roses by Martha Hall KellyWhat it's about: the upturned lives of three young women in the wake of the Russian Revolution -- aristocratic Sofya Streshnayva, a Romanov cousin; Eliza Ferriday, a New Yorker visiting her school friend Sofya's homeland; peasant and young mother Varinka, who feels caught between her family's safety and her revolutionary ideals.
Series alert: Lost Roses is the 2nd entry in a series of historical novels about life during wartime starring the Ferriday family, which began with Lilac Girls. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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