|
Historical Fiction October 2017
|
|
|
|
|
Ironfoot
by Dave Duncan
It is 1164, and for a hundred years England has been ruled by the Normans. A young Saxon boy named Durwin, crippled by a childhood accident, had caught the eye of a Norman sage teaching at a rural school of magic. Realizing that the boy had promise, Durwin was made stable boy, and eventually allowed to attend classes. Now twenty, Durwin is proficient enough that he is assigned to teach, but the other sages refuse to promote him and he is hassled by the Norman juniors for his disability. But those troubles turn out to be the least of his worries when he manages to corrects errors in an ancient corrupted spell, which promptly prophesies murder. Sure enough, word soon reaches the school that one of the local count’s house sages has died, perhaps slain by black magic. Durwin is whisked away to the family’s castle, only to find that one death was only the beginning. The young sage quickly learns of a dizzying plot to assassinate King Henry. Dropped into the middle of the complex politics of England’s royal courts, can Durwin stop them in time?
|
|
| The Vineyard: A Novel by María DueñasIn this sweeping saga by the author of The Time In Between, financial ruin prompts entrepreneur Mauro Larrea to risk what little remains of his hard-won fortune on an Andalusian vineyard. Set in Mexico, Cuba, and Spain during the 1860s, The Vineyard is a good bet for readers who enjoy the atmospheric, romantic historical novels of Isabel Allende and Chantel Acevedo. |
|
|
Persephone
by Julian Stockwin
During a mission in Lisbon, Captain Kydd reunites with Persephone, a woman from his past, but he soon discovers that if he wants her hand, he must find a way into the upper echelons of London society and complete a dangerous task at sea
|
|
| The World of Tomorrow by Brendan MathewsIn a madcap adventure that should please fans of Roddy Doyle's The Last Roundup trilogy, three Irish brothers -- a convict, a jazz musician, and a seminarian -- escape to the United States after running afoul of the IRA. Set against the backdrop of the 1939 New York World's Fair, this lively debut boasts a cast of appealing characters and the "wit of a 30s screwball comedy" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
|
You Were There Before my Eyes : A Novel
by Maria Riva
A woman from a small, Italian village emigrates to America with her husband during the early part of the 20th century and must navigate a new language and country while dealing with the economic and social upheaval of an impending war.
|
|
|
The Way to London
by Alix Rickloff
On the eve of Pearl Harbor, impetuous and overindulged, Lucy Stanhope, the granddaughter of an earl, is living a life of pampered luxury in Singapore until one reckless act will change her life forever. Exiled to England to stay with an aunt she barely remembers, Lucy never dreamed that she would be one of the last people to escape Singapore before war engulfs the entire island, and that her parents would disappear in the devastating aftermath. Now grief stricken and all alone, she must cope with the realities of a grim, battle-weary England. Then she meets Bill, a young evacuee sent to the country to escape the Blitz, and in a moment of weakness, Lucy agrees to help him find his mother in London. The unlikely runaways take off on a seemingly simple journey across the country, but her world becomes even more complicated when she is reunited with an invalided soldier she knew in Singapore. Now Lucy will be forced to finally confront the choices she has made if she ever hopes to have the future she yearns for.
|
|
| Savage Country: A Novel by Robert OlmsteadTo pay off her late husband's debts and save the family ranch, widow Elizabeth Coughlin organizes a bison-hunting expedition in Comanche territory, enlisting her brother-in-law, Michael, to help. What follows is a dramatic story of survival in a harsh and inhospitable landscape. In spare prose that does not shy away from depicting the harsh realities of 1870s frontier life, Savage Country vividly recreates the Great Plains during the period of America's Westward Expansion. Fans of Lin Enger's The High Divide should enjoy this literary Western. |
|
|
A Casualty of War
by Charles Todd
Caring for an increasingly unstable soldier who believes his cousin is responsible for multiple injuries, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford investigates the patient's claims, only to find herself in unexpected danger. By the award-winning author of The Shattered Tree.
|
|
| Under a Pole Star: A Novel by Stef PenneyWhaler's daughter Flora Mackie is 12 years old in 1883 when she first crosses the Arctic Circle, igniting a lifelong passion for polar exploration. However, her desire to attend university and dedicate her life to scientific discovery places her at odds with Victorian society. This haunting, character-driven novel by the author of The Tenderness of Wolves, may appeal to fans of the independent and unconventional heroines of Eowyn Ivey's To the Bright Edge of the World and Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things. |
|
|
The Twelve-mile Straight
by Eleanor Henderson
When a Depression-era girl gives birth to twins including one that is dark skinned, a black man is murdered amid allegations of rape, an act that reverberates throughout the plantation and forces the young mother to raise her children in an environment fraught with precarious lies. By the author of Ten Thousand Saints.
|
|
Focus on: Queens of England
|
|
| The Winter Crown: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Elizabeth ChadwickAt the heart of this novel is the tumultuous marriage of Alienor (Eleanor) of Aquitaine and King Henry II of England, whose once-passionate union has devolved into acrimony. After 14 years of marriage and eight children, Henry casts aside Alienor in favor of his long-time mistress, prompting a rebellion on Alienor's part that will have devastating consequences for the entire family. The Winter Crown is the 2nd book in a trilogy that follows the life of this formidable queen, after The Summer Queen, which focuses on her first marriage to Louis VII of France. |
|
| The Lady of Misrule: A Novel by Suzannah DunnWhen 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey is dethroned (following her nine-day reign) and sent to the Tower of London in 1553, she's accompanied by Elizabeth Tilney, a "good Catholic girl" who has her own private reasons for serving as chaperone. Both women view their time in the Tower as a temporary interruption of their lives; neither expects that one of them won't survive it. Other novels about England's shortest reigning monarch include Philippa Gregory's The Last Tudor, Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor, and Ella March Chase's Three Maids for a Crown. |
|
| Elizabeth I by Margaret GeorgeWell-known for her biographical novels about powerful, much-mythologized female rulers (including Cleopatra and Mary, Queen of Scots), author Margaret George attempts to unknot the tangled relationship between Queen Elizabeth I of England and Lettice Knollys, her cousin and rival, whose marriage to Elizabeth's favorite courtier, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, incurs the monarch's wrath. This "meticulously envisioned" (Booklist) dual portrait compares and contrasts the self-sacrificing Virgin Queen, wedded to her beloved England, and the thrice-married, self-serving Lettice, who, as it turns out, may not be that different from her royal relative. |
|
| Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa GregoryAs girls, Katherine of Aragon and her sisters-in-law, Margaret and Mary Tudor, form a strong, if complicated, bond. As adults, they are destined to become bitter rivals as the demands of marriage and politics lead to betrayal. Unfolding primarily from Margaret's (acerbic) point of view, this dramatic novel is a must for Tudor aficionados who enjoy gossip, scandal, and intrigue. |
|
| Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: A Novel by Alison WeirThis opening installment of novelist and historian Alison Weir's Six Tudor Queens series begins as the 16-year-old Catalina de Aragon arrives in England to marry Arthur, Prince of Wales, who dies shortly after their wedding. She then weds his brother, Henry VIII, and theirs is a happy union -- at least initially, until their inability to produce an heir causes Henry's eye to wander. Can't get enough Tudor drama? Next up is Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|