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Historical Fiction Ebooks February 2021
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| The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi HahnWhat it's about: The eventful life of a Korean girl named Junja, from her early days as a haenyeo (one of the remarkable all-female group of divers on the island of Jeju) to her final days as a well-respected elder in Philadelphia's Korean American community.
Witness to history: Junja's dramatic and sweeping story begins during the Japanese occupation of Korea and is also deeply marked by the events of World War II, the Communist rebellion, and the 1950s American military occupation, which mold her into a tenacious survivor.
[also available as a physical book] |
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| The Arctic Fury by Greer MacallisterThe premise: Inspired by the true story of the doomed Arctic voyage of British ships H.M.S. Terror and H.M.S Erebus, this candid and suspenseful story follows Bostonian Virginia Reeve, hired by a captain's widow to discover what she can about what went wrong.
The problem: Virginia's own voyage returns from the ice with an incomplete crew and its own mystery to solve -- what really happened in the frozen north, and was one of the team really capable of murder?
About the author: Greer Macallister writes a regular column for the Chicago Review of Books and has published other historical novels including Woman 99 and The Magician's Lie.
[also available as a physical book] |
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| Outlawed by Anna NorthWhat it is: The fast-paced and compelling story of apprentice midwife and erstwhile doctor Ada, whose inability to bear children leads her to develop a unique kinship with a group of female and nonbinary outlaws, whose defiance of social expectations offers Ada a chance for life on her own terms in the Dakota territory.
You might also like: other westerns about gutsy social outsiders like All God's Children by Aaron Gwyn and How Much of These Hills is Gold by Pam C. Zhang.
[also available as a physical book] |
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A thousand ships
by Natalie Haynes
What it's about: A retelling of the Trojan War from the perspectives of its women follows the stories of a vigil-keeping Penelope, an Amazon princess rival of Achilles and three goddesses whose feud sparks a tragic conflict.
Why you might like it: A woman's epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world's great tale ever told.
For fans of: Circe by Madeline Miller, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin, and The Black Ships by Jo Graham
[also available as a physical book]
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Yellow wife
by Sadeqa Johnson
What it's about: Born on a plantation, but set apart from the others by her mother’s position as a medicine woman, a young slave is forced to leave home at 18 and unexpectedly finds herself in an infamously cruel jail.
Why to read it: This is a powerful, unflinching account of determination in the face of oppression.
[also available as a physical book]
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| A Single Thread by Tracy ChevalierWhat it is: an engaging and bittersweet story of life after loss, and making a place for yourself in a society that seems determined to leave you behind.
Featuring: thirty-eight year-old Violet Speedwell, who, 14 years after she lost her fiancé during the Great War, discovers purpose and healing when she joins a group of women who embroider the seats and kneelers at Winchester Cathedral.
For fans of: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, which also features likeable female characters who find solace and meaning in an unlikely circle of friends.
[also available as a physical book] |
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| The After Party by Anton DiSclafaniStarring: rebellious glamour girl Joan Fortier and Cece Buchnan, her "best friend since infancy, her modern-day lady-in-waiting." Inseparable since childhood, the women's complicated bond is unraveled by Joan's increasingly alarming behavior.
Why you might like it: Set amid the debutante balls, cocktail parties, and garden-club luncheons of 1950s Houston, Texas, The After Party boasts in-depth characterizations and strong period atmosphere.
[also available as a physical book] |
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| The Pull of the Stars by Emma DonoghueWhat it is: the richly detailed and moving story of three days in a Dublin maternity ward during the worst days of the 1918 Flu Epidemic.
Why you should read it: The moving and well-researched portrait of dedicated but overworked health care workers trying to get through a major disease epidemic is especially poignant and timely.
About the author: Irish novelist and Man Booker finalist Emma Donoghue has written both contemporary and historical fiction including Slammerkin, The Sealed Letter, Room, and Frog Music.
[also available as a physical book] |
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| Lost Roses by Martha Hall KellyWhat it's about: the upturned lives of three young women in the wake of the Russian Revolution -- aristocratic Sofya Streshnayva, a Romanov cousin; Eliza Ferriday, a New Yorker visiting her school friend Sofya's homeland; peasant and young mother Varinka, who feels caught between her family's safety and her revolutionary ideals.
Series alert: Lost Roses is the 2nd entry in a series of historical novels about life during wartime starring the Ferriday family, which began with Lilac Girls.
[also available as a physical book] |
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Summerlings
by Lisa Howorth
What it's about: A Cold War coming-of-age story is set in the summer of 1959 and finds three best friends confronting their fears of the bomb, Russian spies, bullies, and their secret role in a tragic event.
Why you might like it: A vibrantly voiced, heartfelt, and charming Cold War coming-of-age story that captures the crystal-clear moments that mark the bittersweet reckoning of childhood's end.
[also available as a physical book]
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