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Historical Fiction July 2019
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| The Stationery Shop by Marjan KamaliTehran, 1953: Aspiring poet Roya Kayhani and political activist Bahman Aslan meet at a stationery shop and fall in love. But before they can wed, Bahman disappears during a CIA-instigated coup d'état.
Boston, 2013: Having immigrated to America and raised a family, Roya is unexpectedly reunited with Bahman, who reveals what happened.
Want a taste? "Roya's mother had always said that our fate is written on our foreheads when we're born. It can't be seen, it can't be read, but it's there in invisible ink, all right, and life follows that fate. No matter what." |
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| The Orphan's Song by Lauren KateWhat it's about: Raised in a Venetian orphanage, singer Violetta and violinist Mino form a strong but complicated bond rooted in the music they share.
Read it for: Sympathetic characters, a bittersweet love story, and an atmospheric setting
You might also like: Vivaldi's Virgins by Barbara Quick, another richly detailed novel about musical orphans set in 18th-century Venice. |
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| The Burning Chambers by Kate MosseWhat it is: A swashbuckling saga set in 1562 Carcassonne against the backdrop of France's Wars of Religion
Starring: Minou Joubert, a bookseller's daughter who receives an anonymous message containing a warning; fugitive Huguenot Piet Reydon, who protects Minou while fleeing his pursuers
Read it for: Secrets, star-crossed lovers, stolen relics, and the Inquisition |
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| The Electric Hotel by Dominic SmithIntroducing: French film director Claude Ballard, a pioneer of cinema who once worked with the Lumière brothers and now, in 1962, languishes in obscurity as a resident of Hollywood's Knickerbocker Hotel
His masterpiece? The Electric Hotel, a film that he made with the help of an Australian stuntman, a seductive French actress, and a theater owner turned movie producer
Reviewers say: "an irresistible and dizzying international tale of early cinema" (The Washington Post) |
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| The Summer Country by Lauren WilligWhat it is: A compelling family saga by the bestselling author of The English Wife, set in colonial Barbados and full of mystery and romance
1812: Charles Davenant arrives in Barbados to run Peverills, his family's sugar plantation, which proves challenging to say the least.
1854: Englishwoman Emily Dawson inherits the now-derelict Peverills and, with the help of brusque but attractive local doctor Nathaniel Braithwaite, learns about its tragic past. |
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| In West Mills by De'Shawn Charles WinslowIntroducing: Azalea "Knot" Centre, a book-loving, hard-drinking schoolteacher in rural West Mills, North Carolina, and her good friends, Otis Lee Loving and Valley, who help her out of one jam after another.
Read it for: A complex and uncompromising heroine whose unconventional life is rendered in evocative prose
Reviewers say: This debut depicts "a community so tightknit and thorough it becomes easy to forget the people in it don’t exist" (New York Times). |
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| The Sisters of Versailles by Sally ChristieWhat it's about: The five de Nesle sisters, four of whom became mistresses of King Louis XV
Why you might like it: Gossip and intrigue swirl as the young women navigate the gilded palace of Versailles, vying for power and influence.
Series alert: This is the 1st book in a trilogy that continues with The Rivals of Versailles and The Enemies of Versailles. |
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| The Last Tudor by Philippa GregoryStarring: Lady Jane Grey and her sisters, Katherine and Mary, all potential heirs to the disputed throne of England
Should you start here? Although it's the 7th installment of the Cousins' War series, The Last Tudor can be read and enjoyed on its own. |
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| Cleopatra's Shadows: A Fall of Egypt Novel by Emily HollemanIntroducing: Arsinoe and Berenice, the half-sisters of Cleopatra
What happens: After their father is deposed in a palace coup, 12-year-old Berenice declares herself ruler, setting the stage for a bloody conflict that will pit sister against sister.
Try this next: The Drowning King, which is book 2 in this series; or Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra, a biography of the iconic ruler that also delves into dynastic dysfunction. |
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| The Empress of Bright Moon by Weina Dai RandelThe situation: Concubine Mei's beauty, wit, and charm have helped her win the love of Pheasant, the new emperor -- as well as the undying emnity of his wife, Empress Wang, who seeks to destroy her.
Why you might like it: Set in Tang Dynasty China, this historical novel follows the life of the woman who would become Empress Wu, a saga that began with The Moon in the Palace.
Try this next: Sa Shan's Empress, another biographical novel that chronicles Empress Wu's rise to power |
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