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Historical Fiction October 2017
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| 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. |
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| The Good People by Hannah KentMisfortune seems to stalk Nóra Leahy, who becomes the guardian of her severely disabled four-year-old grandson, Micheál, after the sudden deaths of her daughter and husband. Soon, rumors begin to spread that Micheál is one of the "good people" (the fair folk). An atmospheric novel that explores the darkness of the human heart, The Good People blends bleakness and lyricism in a way that should captivate fans of Emma Donoghue's The Wonder, which also features an isolated rural community in 19th-century Ireland gripped by superstition. |
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| 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). |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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Focus on: Queens of England
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| 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. |
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Wolf Hall : a novel
by Hilary Mantel
Assuming the power recently lost by the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell counsels a mercurial Henry VIII on the latter's efforts to marry Anne Boleyn against the wishes of Rome, a successful endeavor that comes with a dangerous price
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| 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. |
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Captive queen : a novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine
by Alison Weir
Abandoning her marriage to the king of France in favor of a partnership with the equally ambitious Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine shares a tumultuous and influential reign marked by their children and her long-term imprisonment. By the author of The Lady Elizabeth.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Harrison Memorial Library Ocean and Lincoln Carmel, California 93921 831-624-4629www.hm-lib.org/ |
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