|
Historical Fiction January 2017
|
|
|
|
|
The Dispossessed
by Szilard Borbely
A first novel by the late poet and author of Berlin-Hamlet depicts the poverty and cruelty endured by a partly Jewish family in a mid-20th-century Hungarian village.
|
|
|
The spy : a novel
by Paulo Coelho
A tale inspired by the life and death of Mata Hari is presented as a series of letters written from prison on the eve of her death and includes her reflections on her childhood in a small Dutch town, her unhappy years as the wife of an alcoholic diplomat, her rise to celebrity in Europe and the choices that led to her execution for espionage.
|
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| Sun Born: A Novel of North America's Forgotten Past by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal GearWhen a technologically advanced rival threatens the great city of Cahokia, "living god" Morning Star and his human sister, Night Shadow Star, must act quickly to secure the safety of their people. However, the siblings disagree on strategy. Can they unite against their common enemy or will their divided house lead to the downfall of a great civilization? Sun Born is the 19th book in the First North Americans series and the 2nd book in the Morning Star trilogy, a stand-alone subset of the main series that begins with People of the Morning Star. However, readers interested in the development of the Mississippian (or "mound-builders") culture may want to start with People of the River, which takes place a generation before the events of this novel. |
|
|
Good time coming
by C. S Harris
As the Civil War comes ever closer to her vulnerable village of St. Francisville in Louisiana, young Amrie St. Pierre is forced to grow up quickly when she encounters a Union captain named Gabriel who threatens to destroy all she holds dear
|
|
|
Conclave
by Robert Harris
After the demise of the Pope, 118 cardinals converge on the Sistine Chapel to cast their votes in the world's most secretive election, where ambition and rivalry play out over the course of 72 hours. By the best-selling author of Fatherland.
|
|
|
The ornatrix
by Kate Howard
A young woman born with a strange birthmark on her face leaves her sheltered childhood and becomes hairdresser and personal maid to a former courtesan who draws her into a world of desire and jealousy lurking behind the wealth and privilege of Perugia.
|
|
|
Say Goodbye for Now
by Catherine Ryan Hyde
On an isolated Texas ranch, Dr. Lucy cares for abandoned animals. The solitude allows her to avoid the people and places that remind her of the past. Not that any of the townsfolk care. In 1959, no one is interested in a woman doctor. Nor are they welcoming Calvin and Justin Bell, a newly arrived African-American father and son. When Pete Solomon, a neglected twelve-year-old boy, and Justin bring a wounded wolf-dog hybrid to Dr. Lucy, the outcasts soon find refuge in one another. Lucy never thought she'd make connections again, never mind fall in love. Pete never imagined he'd find friends as loyal as Justin and the dog. But these four people aren't allowed to be friends, much less a family, when the whole town turns violently against them. With heavy hearts, Dr. Lucy and Pete say goodbye to Calvin and Justin. But through the years they keep hope alive waiting for the world to catch up with them.
|
|
|
Beauty and Attention
by Liz Rosenberg
The riveting story of one brave young woman’s struggle to free herself from a web of deceit. For misfit Libby Archer, social expectations for young women in Rochester, New York, in the mid-1950s don’t work. Her father has died, leaving her without parents, and her well-meaning friends are pressuring her to do what any sensible single girl must do: marry a passionate, persistent hometown suitor with a promising future. Yet Libby boldly defies conventional wisdom and plans to delay marriage—to anyone—by departing for her uncle’s Belfast estate. In Ireland, Libby seeks not only the comfort of family but also greater opportunities than seem possible during the stifling McCarthy era at home. Across the Atlantic, Libby finds common ground with her brilliant, invalid cousin, Lazarus, then puts her trust in a sophisticated older woman who seems to be everything she hopes to become. Fraught with betrayal and long-kept secrets, as well as sudden wealth and unexpected love, Libby’s journey toward independence takes turns she never could have predicted—and calls on courage and strength she never knew she had.
|
|
|
Lovers and newcomers
by Rosie Thomas
Rejecting a lonely widowhood by inviting her five oldest friends to come live with her, Miranda embarks on a life of security and indulgence that is threatened when an Iron Age burial site is discovered on her property. By the award-winning author of The Kashmir Shawl.
|
|
|
Sophie and the rising sun
by Augusta Trobaugh
Setting the sleepy Georgia town of Salty Creek on its' ear with his arrival, Mr. Oto is taken in as a gardener by Miss Anne, the town's conscience, and soon enounters Sophie, a quiet woman who steals his heart, but when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Mr. Oto is forced to reexamine his new surroundings and Sophie must decide how far she will go in the name of love, in a richly textured novel filled with unforgettable characters.
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
Becoming Billie Holiday
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday looks back on her early years when she discovers, at the age of fifteen, that she has something that could change her life--her voice, in this fictional memoir written in verse.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Prince George's County Memorial Library System 9601 Capital Lane Largo, Maryland 20774 301-699-3500www.pgcmls.info/ |
|
|
|