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Historical Fiction February 2019
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| That Churchill Woman by Stephanie BarronPresenting: Lady Randolph Churchill -- née Jennie Jerome, the American heiress who snags a titled husband and scandalizes Victorian England's high society with her political ambition and affaires de coeur.
Why you might like it: This biographical novel offers a sympathetic portrait of an intelligent woman who rebels against the restrictive social mores of the late 19th century.
You might also like: Karen Harper's American Duchess or Therese Anne Fowler's A Well-Behaved Woman, about Gilded Age heiresses who seek personal fulfillment within socially advantageous yet emotionally impoverished marriages. |
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| eBook on Hoopla
Starring: Hedwig Kiesler, the Austrian Jewish trophy wife who flees 1930s Vienna and reinvents herself as Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr -- while secretly pursuing her dream of becoming an inventor.
About the author: Marie Benedict wrote The Other Einstein, which similarly illuminates the overlooked scientific contributions of women.
Further reading: The biography Hedy's Folly by Richard Rhodes. |
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The Light Over London by Julia KellyUnable to confront the challenges in her own life, Cara Hargraves immerses herself in work for her antiques-dealer boss, uncovering relics from the life of World War II British "Gunner Girl" Louise Keene and her complicated relationship with a man named Paul.
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The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
After finding an abandoned suitcase filled with photographs, Grace Healey soon learns the case belonged to the leader of a network of female secret agents deployed during World War II.
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| eAudiobook on RBDigital
Starring: New Mexico teen Miguel Torres, an aspiring astronomer, and his 15th-century converso ancestor, Luis de Torres.
What happens: In parallel narratives separated by 500 years, Miguel discovers his Jewish heritage as Luis, fleeing the Inquisition, sails to the New World with Columbus.
Reviewers say: "With prose as clear as the star-strewn sky, Morris’ novel explores people’s hidden connections" (Booklist). |
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| eBook on Overdrive & eAudiobook on RBDigital
What it's about: In the deep, dark forests of 17th-century New France (now Canada), indentured censitaires work as "barkskins," or woodcutters bound to their seigneur as they toil in the "evil wilderness."
Meet: René Sel and Charles Duquet, censitaires whose paths diverge dramatically: one marries a Mi’kmaw woman and becomes the patriarch of a large, mixed-race family, while the other escapes servitude to become a wealthy trader.
You might also like: Joseph Boyden's The Orenda, which shares Barkskins' setting but focuses on the region's indigenous inhabitants. |
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