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Historical Fiction May 2019
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The daughter's tale : a novel
by Armando Lucas Correa
A tale of love and redemption based on the 1944 Oradour-Sur-Glane massacre follows an octogenarian's receipt of a cache of letters, written by her mother during World War II, that uncover decades of secrets. 150,000 first printing.
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The Tubman command : a novel
by Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman
Tells the story of Harriet Tubman at the height of her powers, when she devises the largest plantation raid of the Civil War after General David Hunter places her in charge of a team of black scouts even though skeptical of what one woman can accomplish.
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Confessions to Mr. Roosevelt
by Marilyn J Holt
Ellen Hartley, an aspiring writer, is desperate to find work, but the Great Depression makes it almost impossible until she stumbles into a job with the Federal Writers' Project. A New Deal program, it is hiring unemployed writers, librarians, and teachers to collect the reminiscences of pioneers who settled the Plains. Ellen soon finds herself in a small Kansas town where it's rumored that the pioneers' stories will be read by President Roosevelt.
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Anna of Kleve, the princess in the portrait : a novel
by Alison Weir
Arranged in a doomed marriage to England's infamous Henry VIII, a princess from a small German duchy hides a desperate secret in a hostile foreign court. By the best-selling author of Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen
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America was hard to find : a novel
by Kathleen Alcott
A short-lived affair between an astronaut and an American expatriate has unexpected consequences that are further complicated by the political fault lines of the 1960s. By the author of Infinite Home. 50,000 first printing
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Resistance women : a novel
by Jennifer Chiaverini
Resisting the power grabs of an increasingly formidable Nazi Party in 1930s Berlin, the courageous American wife of a German intellectual and her circle of women friends engage in a clandestine battle to sabotage Hitler's regime. 150,000 first printing.
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The Yankee widow
by Linda Lael Miller
Protecting her child and Gettysburg farm at the height of the Civil War, a widow faces difficult choices when she offers shelter to a dedicated Union soldier, a passionate Southern rebel and a pregnant fugitive slave. 150,000 first printing.
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| American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie ThorntonStarring: Alice Roosevelt, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Just 18 when her father is elected president, spirited Alice becomes a celebrity, a fashion icon, and a walking scandal who smokes, gambles, and rides in automobiles with men.
Why you might like it: Alice's lively narration describes her coming-of-age in the public eye while capturing her larger-than-life personality.
You might also like: Jerome Charyn's The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King, in which Teddy Roosevelt recounts his adventurous life. |
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| The Quintland Sisters: A Novel by Shelley WoodWhat it's about: In 1934, quintuplets are born to a poor family in rural Ontario. Teenage midwife Emma Trimpany, who helps deliver all five girls, tells their story.
Inspired by: the real-life Dionne sisters of Canada, the first known quintuplets to survive infancy and reach adulthood.
You might also like: Ami McKay's The Birth House, another engaging, well-researched historical novel about rural Canadian midwives. |
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Mistress of the Ritz : a novel
by Melanie Benjamin
The director of the luxurious Hotel Ritz in occupied Paris and his courageous American wife, Blanche Auzello, risk their marriage and lives to support the French Resistance during World War II. By the best-selling author of The Aviator's Wife
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| I Always Loved You: A Story of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas by Robin OliveiraStarring: artists Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas.
What it's about: their complicated relationship, which begins when Edgar invites Mary -- rejected by the Paris Salon -- to exhibit her paintings with the Impressionists.
Try this next: Harriet Scott Chessman's Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper, about Cassatt's relationship with her sister; Cathy Marie Buchanan's The Painted Girls or Kathryn Wagner's Dancing for Degas, which focus on Degas and his dancer-models. |
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| The Collector's Apprentice: A Novel by B.A. ShapiroStarring: 19-year-old Paulien Mertens, who becomes Vivienne Gregsby and finds a job with an American art collector who shares her passion for post-Impressionist art. Little does he know she's got an ulterior motive.
Why you might like it: Cameos by famous artists and evocative details of Paris in the 1920s add atmosphere to a slow-burning tale of passion, murder, and revenge.
Did you know? Although this novel's characters are fictitious, its featured works of art form the core of the collection at the real-life Barnes Foundation museum in Philadelphia. |
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| The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic SmithWhat it's about: A 17th-century Dutch masterpiece is stolen from a Manhattan residence in 1957 and replaced with a skillfully executed forgery. The switch remains a secret for decades -- until the museum curator who created the fake is confronted by both versions.
Why you might like it: Parallel narratives unfold and eventually converge in this atmospheric novel, which reveals surprising connections among individuals separated by time and geography. |
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| Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe by Dawn TrippWhat happens: Once aspiring artist Georgia O'Keeffe becomes the muse and mistress of photographer Alfred Stieglitz, she struggles to be recognized as an artist in her own right -- especially after Stieglitz revives his own flagging career by exhibiting nude portraits of Georgia.
Why you might like it: Emphasizing O'Keeffe's rich inner life, this lyrical novel presents a nuanced portrait of an iconic American artist.
Want a taste? "This is not a love story. If it were, we would have the same story. But he has his, and I have mine." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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