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Historical FictionJune 2014
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"All this came about because I was born on the day freedom came, or was supposed to come. I came into the world on that day, and like it or not, freedom came with me." ~ from Shelton Johnson's Gloryland
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New and Recently Released!
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| The Orenda: A Novel by Joseph BoydenSet in 17th-century Ontario during the French conquest of Canada, this sweeping, richly detailed historical epic unfolds through the eyes of three individuals: Huron (Wyandot) warrior Bird, his Iroquois captive Snow Falls, and Jesuit Missionary Père Christophe. As the French exploit long-standing conflicts between the Huron and the Iroquois to gain control of their respective territories, shifting alliances between all three groups irrevocably alter the landscape of North America and the lives of its indigenous people. For more historical fiction set in Canada during this period, check out Suzanne Desrochers' Bride of New France, about a teenage Parisian prostitute sent to the New World as a fur trader's bride. |
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| The Untold by Courtney CollinsSold by her parents to a traveling circus at age 12, Jessie Hickman becomes a tightrope walker, a horse thief, a convict, an abused wife, and, finally, a murderer. Pursued across the Australian Outback by law enforcement officials, Jessie's best hope for survival is to reunite with her aboriginal lover, stockman Jack Brown, who may or may not be in league with the authorities. Set in the 1920s and based on the life of a legendary Australian outlaw, bushranger, and all-around "wild woman," this novel may appeal to fans of Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang. |
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| All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony DoerrWhen blind Marie-Laure LeBlanc and her father, a master locksmith at Paris' Museum of Natural History, flee the city on the eve of the German occupation, they seek sanctuary in St. Malo, at the home of Marie-Laure's eccentric great-uncle and his housekeeper, both members of the French Resistance. As Marie-Laure contributes to their efforts by broadcasting information over the wireless, her path crosses that of German soldier Werner Pfennig, whose intellect and technical aptitude are responsible for his current assignment: monitoring and reporting illicit radio transmissions. If you enjoy dramatic stories set during World War II, don't miss this lyrical story of love, loyalty, and betrayal. |
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| Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady by Sally O'ReillyThe daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia Bassano grows up amid the splendor of Queen Elizabeth's court, eventually becoming the mistress of an elderly lord and the lover of a young playwright named Will Shakespeare. Once she becomes pregnant, however, she falls from favor and is hastily married off to a courtier. Forgotten but not gone, Aemilia risks what little remains to her when she approaches Shakespeare, her former paramour, with a single request: help her save their child. Inspired by the life and career of Aemilia Lanyer, England's first woman poet, this novel proposes an intriguing possible identity for the "dark lady" of Shakespeare's sonnets. |
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| Gloryland: A Novel by Shelton JohnsonBorn in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Emancipation Day (January 1, 1863), Elijah Yancy -- the part-Seminole, part-African child of slaves -- grows up with a keen understanding of the difference between freedom and equality. Seeking a better life, he enlists in one of the newly formed African-American regiments of the U.S. Cavalry. As a Buffalo soldier stationed at Yosemite National Park Elijah falls in love with the beauty of the wilderness, yet grows increasingly uncomfortable carrying out his orders, which threaten the lives and liberty of the area's Cheyenne and the Comanche inhabitants. |
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| Snow Mountain Passage: A Novel of the Donner Party by James D. HoustonThis dramatic recreation of the ill-fated journey of the Donner party, American pioneers who attempted to travel overland from Illinois to California during the winter of 1846-1847, unfolds through two separate, yet complementary narratives. In one, party leader James Frazier Reed kills a man in self-defense and accepts exile as his punishment, traveling alone and ahead of the others. In the other, Reed's daughter, Patty, recounts in her "Trail Notes" the harrowing events -- disease, starvation, and cannibalism -- that befell the intrepid band once their wagon train became trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains with dwindling supplies and little hope of rescue. |
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| A Good Man: A Novel by Guy VanderhaegheThe son of a wealthy Canadian timber baron, former mounted policeman Wesley Case relocates to the Montana Territory in 1876, where he purchases a ranch near the rough-and-tumble frontier outpost of Fort Benton -- not far from the site of Custer's Last Stand. However, thanks to escalating tensions between the U.S. Army and the Sioux, Case's primary livelihood soon becomes the gathering and exchange of information. With its complex characterization and lyrical descriptions of rugged western landscapes, this concluding volume of Canadian author Guy Vanderhaeghe's Western trilogy -- which begins with The Englishman's Boy and The Last Crossing -- may appeal to fans of Gil Adamson's The Outlander. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 6532 Adelphi Rd. Hyattsville, Maryland 20782 301-699-3500http://www.pgcmls.info/ |
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