|
Historical Fiction July 2017
|
|
|
|
| Lilli de Jong: A Novel by Janet BentonAbandoned by her lover, rejected by her family, and disowned by her Germantown Quaker community, pregnant Lilli de Jong has nowhere to turn but a Philadelphia institution for unwed mothers. But Lilli's present difficulties are nothing compared to the hardships she'll face once she decides to keep her child instead of surrendering the infant. Although Lilli de Jong is set in the 1880s instead of the Great Depression, its depiction of the plight of unmarried pregnant women sent to charity hospitals may interest readers who enjoyed Barbara J. Taylor's similarly themed All Waiting is Long. |
|
| Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa WingateBorn on a shantyboat in the Mississippi River, 12-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings are taken from their impoverished parents by the Tennessee Children's Home Society and placed in a Memphis orphanage. As Rill recounts her struggle to keep her sisters and brother together, present-day scenes hint at the family's fate. Inspired by a real-life scandal in which children stolen from their families were sold to wealthy childless couples, Before We Were Yours is a good bet for fans of Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train. |
|
|
The Hollywood Daughter: A Novel
by Kate Alcott
Jessica "Jesse" Malloy's father is a PR executive for Selznick International Pictures; her mother is a devout Catholic homemaker who disapproves of the film industry. These worldviews clash when Jesse's idol, glamorous starlet Ingrid Bergman, begins an affair with married Italian director Roberto Rossellini -- a scandal that places her father's career, her parents' marriage, and the family's livelihood in jeopardy. Although it's set in the 1950s instead of the 1930s, this coming-of-age story by the author of A Touch of Stardust may appeal to fans of Adriana Trigiani's All the Stars in the Heavens, which also features a young Catholic woman who observes a Hollywood scandal and the moral hypocrisy that accompanies it.
|
|
| Miriam: A Novel of Love and the Talmud by Maggie AntonEleventh-century Troyes, France is home to a thriving Jewish community, due in part to the yeshiva founded by Rabbi Salomon ben Isaac, better known as Rashi. Lacking sons, Rashi chose to educate his three daughters, resulting in three intelligent and strong-willed women. Now middle daughter Miriam, a midwife, is determined to become a mohelet. Although she isn't technically violating traditional Jewish law, many in the community believe that women have no role in the covenant of circumcision. This well-researched 2nd book in the Rashi's Daughters series explores Jewish life and culture in medieval Europe. To read about Miriam's sisters check out Joheved and Rachel. |
|
| World Without End by Ken FollettTwo centuries after the events of The Pillars of the Earth, which saw the construction of an elaborate Gothic cathedral in the English town of Kingsbridge, the world is a different place. Although the Church still plays a central role in European life, war and plague have shaken the foundations of society. Beginning on All Hallow's Day in the year 1327, four children witness an event that will influence their lives, as well as the future of their country. Like its predecessor, World Without End combines a large ensemble cast, multilayered plot, and well-researched historical details to tell a sweeping family saga. Fans of this series will be pleased to know that book 3, A Column of Fire, will be released in September. |
|
|
Rashi's daughters : Book One, Joheved
by Maggie Anton
Rashi, one of the greatest Jewish scholars who ever lived, had no sons, only three daughters. Much has been written about Rashi and his grandsons, the Tosafot, but almost nothing of his daughters. Legend has it that they were learned in a time when women were forbidden to study the sacred texts. Rashis Daughters tells the story of these forgotten women.
|
|
|
The jester : a novel
by James Patterson
Returning home from the Crusades, a disillusioned Hugh discovers that his village has been ransacked and his wife abducted by relic-seeking knights, a situation that prompts him to pose as a court jester in order to infiltrate the castle where his wife is imprisoned.
|
|
|
Bohemian Gospel: A Novel
by Dana Chamblee Carpenter
Because "no one had wanted her enough even to give her a name," she calls herself Mouse. Abandoned in infancy, Mouse is raised in the abbey at Teplá, where the brothers and sisters regard her with suspicion due to her visions, which are less heavenly than hellish. When she saves the life of Ottakar II, the 15-year-old king of Bohemia, she becomes his personal healer and accompanies him to Prague. At court, she must protect Ottakar and learn to survive in a world of traitors, while concealing her true nature. Although Bohemian Gospel is set in Eastern Europe in the 13th century, it may appeal to fans of Nicola Griffith's Hild, about a young female mystic who becomes indispensable to the king of a troubled realm.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
|
|
|
|