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Historical Fiction January 2021
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Eli's Promise
by Ronald H. Balson
Germany, 1946: Despite the betrayal of his employee-turned-war-profiteer Max Poleski, Polish Jewish businessman Eli Rosen and his son Isaac have both survived the Holocaust and managed to reunite. With no sign of his wife Esther however, Eli begins the daunting task of searching for her in a sea of displaced people.
Chicago, 1965: Eli learns that Max is up to his old ways, exploiting political corruption and the Vietnam War for financial gain. Seeing a chance to stop the destruction of more lives, Eli's new plan is to bring Max to justice by any means necessary.
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| What it's about: the suspicious 1560 death of Amy Robsart, wife of Queen Elizabeth I's favorite (and possible lover) Robert Dudley.
Is it for you? The story is told in alternating narratives, one during the 16th-century events in question and another during a modern-day investigation of the historical crime.
Reviewers say: "Cornick's rich mystery will serve readers well on a rainy day" (Publishers Weekly).
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| At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop; translated by Anna MoschovakisStarring: Alfa Ndiaye, a Senegalese soldier fighting with the French army during World War I; Mademba Diop, Alfa's childhood friend and fellow soldier.
What goes wrong: Mademba suffers a fatal combat injury and begs Alfa to save him from a lingering death, but Alfa finds himself unable to go through with it. Haunted by this choice, Alfa must now find a way to survive the war and live with himself. |
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| Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel JoyceWhat it's about: In 1950, middle-aged London schoolmarm Margery Benson decides to leave behind her normal life and travel to the Pacific island of New Caledonia in order to pursue her dream: finding a real specimen of the Golden Beetle, a nearly mythological insect she's been obsessed with since childhood.
Read it for: the heartwarming friendship that Margery develops with her unlikely assistant Enid, a young woman with her own dream to pursue during their unusual journey. |
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The Wright Sister
by Patty Dann
What it's about: Katherine Wright Haskell, the remarkable yet overlooked younger sister of the famous Wright Brothers, who tells the story of her education, teaching career, and sometimes turbulent relationship with her brother Orville through a series of diary entries.
Did you know? Katherine was the only member of her family to earn a college degree, and the financial support she provided her brothers was crucial to their aviation efforts.
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| Marley by Jon ClinchStarring: Jacob Marley, erstwhile friend and business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge.
What happens: Friends become partners-in-crime become bitter rivals in this atmospheric novel, which traces the men's complicated relationship from their initial boyhood meeting to their dramatic falling out.
Read it for: a masterful reimagining of Dicken's classic A Christmas Carol with this darkly entertaining exploration of the relationship between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley. |
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| What it is: an engaging portrayal of the youth and early adulthood of Marilla Cuthbert, long before the arrival of spirited orphan Anne Shirley to their Prince Edward Island farm.
Read it for: the richly detailed and sympathetic portrait of Marilla's character, which doesn't shy away from her flaws but does much to humanize her as well.
Don't miss: the winks at later events in the original Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery; young Marilla's passionate embrace of social causes like the abolitionist movement.
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| Caroline: Little House, Revisited by Sarah Elizabeth MillerWhat it's about: the early days of the family of Laura Ingalls Wilder, told from the perspective of her likeable, strong, and sympathetic mother Caroline.
Why you might like it: although still full of the kind of detail and emotional resonance as the original Little House books, this story also thoughtfully portrays the hardships and privation of pioneer life, including Caroline's isolation from her extended family and the psychological strain her circumstances create. |
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| What it is: a lush, high-drama story of lust, love, and scheming amongst the who's-who of Harlem's postwar elite.
The plot: it centers around a pact between heiress Mae and charming nightclub owner Val: Val is supposed to seduce Mae's cousin Cecily, but Cecily has fallen in love with a jazz musician, while Val's got his eye on a married woman Elizabeth.
Based on: eighteenth-century French classic Les Liaisons dangereuses. |
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| What it's about: the heartwrenching story of Mildred Groves who, while working as a secretary at a World War II-era military facility, struggles with her awareness of the destructive capability of nuclear weapons and the failure of her colleagues to take her concerns seriously.
Inspired by: the myth of Trojan princess Kassandra, to whom Apollo gave the power of clairvoyance but also cursed to never be believed.
Read it for: the parallels drawn between the looming nuclear threat and the endemic racism and sexism of Mildred's workplace.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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