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Historical Fiction January 2017
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| To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice ColinFrom their first meeting in Paris aboard a hot air balloon, Caitriona Wallace and Émile Nouguier are drawn to each other. However, differences in social status preclude romance. Caitriona, a widow living in genteel poverty, is a paid chaperone to the children of a wealthy Glaswegian merchant, while Émile, an engineer employed by Gustave Eiffel, comes from a prosperous family that expects him to find a suitably moneyed wife. As the Eiffel Tower rises, the would-be lovers find themselves caught between the irreconcilable demands of duty and passion. This moving novel boasts a slow-building love story between its sympathetic main characters and a vivid Belle Époque backdrop. |
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| The Flame Bearer: A Novel by Bernard CornwellBefore he can reclaim his Northumbrian estate from his treacherous cousin, Uhtred of Bebbanburg must first honor his alliance with King Sigtryggr of Eoferwic (York), while outmaneuvering his enemies, Scottish King Constantin and Norseman Einar the White. Since Uhtred is a warrior, not a diplomat, readers can expect plenty of battle and bloodshed in this fast-paced and action-packed 11th novel in Bernard Cornwell's popular Saxon Stories novels. Due to the complex politics of 9th-century Britain, newcomers to the series may wish to start at the beginning with The Last Kingdom. |
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Hanging Mary
by Susan Higginbotham
Based on fact, describes the story of Mary Surratt, who ran a small boarding house where her son brought spies, secessionists and future confederates, including the charming actor John Wilkes Booth, and may have been involved in Lincoln's assassination. Original.
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A front page affair
by Radha Vatsal
When a man is murdered at a high society picnic on her beat, journalist Kitty Weeks is plunged into a wartime conspiracy that threatens to derail the United States' attempt to remain neutral and to disrupt the privileged life she has always known
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The O'Briens : a novel
by Peter Behrens
A family saga spanning half a century in the lives of a restless and ambitious clan starts with the story of backwoods youth-turned-railroad magnate Joe O'Brien, who after leaving the Canadian wilds and sharing a passionate courtship with Iseult becomes the patriarch of a family that sees the first airplanes, two world wars and the election of JFK. By the award-winning author of The Law of Dreams.
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| The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel by Margaret GeorgeCleopatra VII Philopator, the legendary "Queen of the Nile," narrates her own story in this lush and highly atmospheric novel. Despite considerable competition for the throne, the indomitable young princess nevertheless becomes the sole ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt through her cunning, ruthlessness, and canny alliances with powerful Romans, including Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. Throughout her tumultuous reign she displays an aptitude for politics matched only by her greatest enemy, Octavian. Like author Margaret George's biographical novels Mary, Called Magdalene and Helen of Troy, The Memoirs of Cleopatra draws on copious research to give voice to an influential woman of the ancient world. |
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Lucrezia Borgia
by John Faunce
A fictional portrait of the infamous Lucrezia Borgia, the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI, presents a woman trapped between her powerful family and her own desires during a life marked by divorce, debauchery, rumors of incest, and murder. A first novel. 25,000 first printing.
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| Mata Hari's Last Dance: A Novel by Michelle MoranAlthough she'll one day present herself as a Javanese princess, Margaretha Zelle is born into a middle-class family in the Netherlands in 1876. At 18, she impulsively weds an army officer and accompanies him to the Dutch East Indies, where she endures an abusive marriage by immersing herself in traditional Indonesian dance, thus setting the stage for her debut as Mata Hari. After scandalizing audiences in Paris with her striptease act, she becomes a courtesan and -- once World War I begins -- a spy. For another atmospheric novel about this notorious woman check out Yannick Murphy's Signed, Mata Hari. |
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| The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel by Alison WeirPrincess Elizabeth by birth, the three-year-old daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII becomes simply Lady Elizabeth when her mother is executed in 1536. Over the next several years, Elizabeth watches as her father marries and disposes of multiple wives and as her half-siblings, Edward VI and Mary, wield power. Eventually, however, Elizabeth will herself rise from delegitimized daughter to reigning queen. This fictional portrait of the young Elizabeth will thrill readers who enjoy the endless drama of the Tudor court. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Keene Public Library
60 Winter St.
Keene, New Hampshire 03431
603-352-0157
http://www.keenepubliclibrary.org/
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