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Historical Fiction February 2017
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Dragon Springs Road : a novel
by Janie Chang
After being abandoned by her mother in 1908 Shanghai, a young Eurasian girl, Jialing, becomes the bondservant to the new owners of a grand estate until she befriends a young English girl who mysteriously disappears and forever changes her life.
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The chosen maiden
by Eva Stachniak
"The passionate, sweeping story of Bronia, an extraordinary ballerina forever in the shadow of the legendary Nijinsky--Russia's greatest dancer and her older brother. Born on the road to dancer parents, the Nijinsky children seem destined for the stage. Vaslav is an early prodigy, and through single-minded pursuit will grow into arguably the greatest--and most infamous--Russian ballet dancer of the 20th century. His talented younger sister Bronia, however, also longs to dance. Overshadowed by Vaslav, plagued by a body deemed less than ideal and struggling against the constraints of her gender, Bronia will have to work triply hard to prove herself worthy. Bronia's stunning discipline and mesmerizing talent will eventually elevate her to the highest stage in Russia: the prestigious, old-world Mariinsky Ballet. But as the First World War rages, revolution sparks in Russia. In her politics, love life and career, Bronia will be forced to confront the choice between old and new; traditional and groundbreaking;safe and passionate. Through gorgeous and graceful prose, readers will be swept from St. Petersburg and Kiev to London and Paris and plunged into the tumultuous world of modern art. Against the fascinating and tragic backdrop of early 20th century Europe, and surrounded by legends like Anna Pavlova, Coco Chanel, Serge Diaghilev and Pablo Picasso, Bronia must come into her own--as a dancer, mother and revolutionary--in a world that only wishes to see her fall."
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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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Pharaoh
by Wilbur A Smith
Royal advisor and former slave Taita is caught up in a whirlpool of ruthless intrigue that tests the limits of his intelligence, alchemy and cunning as he endeavors to protect the empire, his Pharaoh and those he loves. By the best-selling author of Golden Lion. 150,000 first printing.
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| The Paris Architect: A Novel by Charles BelfoureIn 1942, Parisian architect Lucien Bernard accepts a lucrative commission from a wealthy businessman to design a secret room for the purpose of hiding Jewish fugitives from the Gestapo. Although Lucien has no particular love for the city's Jewish population, he loathes the occupying Germans and thrives on the challenge of deceiving them (the money doesn't hurt, either). But as Lucien's involvement in the scheme grows, he learns that no one can be trusted, not even those closest to him. Fans of suspenseful historical fiction set in Vichy France and featuring artists may also be interested in Paul Watkins' The Forger, in which a young American expatriate forges paintings to undermine the Third Reich. |
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| Mission to Paris: A Novel by Alan FurstArriving in Paris in 1938, Frederic Stahl, a Hollywood star on loan from Warner Bros. to a French studio, soon finds himself wooed by the "political warfare" branch of the Nazi progaganda machine. Born and raised in Vienna but naturalized in the U.S., Stahl has always steered clear of politics. However, his unease with the growing influence of the Third Reich in France and his distaste for being used prompts him to try his hand at espionage. Fans of noir-tinged historical spy fiction should enjoy this atmospheric stand-alone 12th installment of Alan Furst's Night Soldiers series. |
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| City of Women: A Novel by David R. GillhamSigrid Schröder is the perfect wife, or so it appears. Married to a soldier fighting on the front lines, she lives in Berlin with her mother-in-law and works as a stenographer. However, she also pines for her married lover while helping her neighbors shelter Jewish families from the Gestapo. Focusing on Sigrid's inner life and the moral dilemmas she faces, City of Women is an introspective but dramatic story of an ordinary individual's resistance to authoritarian government. |
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| The Kommandant's Girl by Pam JenoffWhen the Nazis invade Poland, Jewish librarian Emma Bau risks her life to aid the resistance, assuming a false identity as a gentile while her activist husband Jacob goes into hiding. As Anna Lipowski, she becomes the personal assistant to a high-ranking Nazi official, Kommandant Georg Richwalder, hoping to secure information that will help the cause. But Richwalder is hardly the monster Emma expects him to be, and their growing intimacy threatens to jeopardize everything -- her work for the resistance, her marriage, and even her life. If you enjoy The Kommandant's Girl, you may want to read The Diplomat's Wife, which takes place after the war and features some of the same characters. |
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April in Paris
by Michael Wallner
Working in the army's back offices in occupied Paris, Roth, a young German soldier, is transferred to Gestapo headquarters to work as an interpreter during the interrogation of Resistance fighters because of his ability to speak fluent French, but when he falls in love with Chantal, the beautiful daughter of an antiquarian bookshop owner, he suddenly finds himself on the opposite side of his Nazi colleagues.
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Citadel
by Kate Mosse
Deep within the Pyrenees, a group of courageous and determined female operatives—codenamed Citadel—fight to liberate their home from the Germans while protecting an ancient secret that, if discovered by the enemy, could change the course of history. 100,000 first printing.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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