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Historical Fiction May 2019
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| The Parting Glass by Gina Marie GuadagninoA tangled web: Lady's maid Mary Ballard is in love with her mistress -- who's having an affair with stablehand Johnny Prior. Unbeknownst to their employers, Mary is an Irish immigrant named Maire O'Farren, and Johnny is her twin brother Seanin.
Why you might like it: The Parting Glass offers a suspenseful Upstairs, Downstairs plot and a vivid recreation of 1830s New York City.
For fans of: the atmospheric, LGBTQIA-themed historical fiction of Sarah Waters and Emma Donoghue. |
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Time After Time : A Novel
by Lisa Grunwald
What it's about: Trapped in 1937 Grand Central Terminal by magical rules she cannot understand, an aspiring artist forges a romantic relationship with a hardworking railroad man before a landmark construction threatens their future together.
You might also enjoy: "The TIme Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger
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| American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie ThorntonStarring: Alice Roosevelt, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Just 18 when her father is elected president, spirited Alice becomes a celebrity, a fashion icon, and a walking scandal who smokes, gambles, and rides in automobiles with men.
Why you might like it: Alice's lively narration describes her coming-of-age in the public eye while capturing her larger-than-life personality.
You might also like: Jerome Charyn's The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King, in which Teddy Roosevelt recounts his adventurous life. |
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| The Quintland Sisters: A Novel by Shelley WoodWhat it's about: In 1934, quintuplets are born to a poor family in rural Ontario. Teenage midwife Emma Trimpany, who helps deliver all five girls, tells their story.
Inspired by: the real-life Dionne sisters of Canada, the first known quintuplets to survive infancy and reach adulthood.
You might also like: Ami McKay's The Birth House, another engaging, well-researched historical novel about rural Canadian midwives. |
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| I Always Loved You: A Story of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas by Robin OliveiraStarring: artists Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas.
What it's about: their complicated relationship, which begins when Edgar invites Mary -- rejected by the Paris Salon -- to exhibit her paintings with the Impressionists.
Try this next: Harriet Scott Chessman's Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper, about Cassatt's relationship with her sister; Cathy Marie Buchanan's The Painted Girls or Kathryn Wagner's Dancing for Degas, which focus on Degas and his dancer-models. |
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Luncheon of the Boating Party
by Susan Vreeland
What it's about: Meeting his closest friends for a summer lunch on a café terrace along the Seine, master Impressionist painter Auguste Renoir undertakes the most challenging project of his career while struggling with the issues that are polarizing post-Franco-Paris War France.
Why you might like it: This is Vreeland's fourth art related novel and it sings with her love and appreciation of Renoir.
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| The Collector's Apprentice: A Novel by B.A. ShapiroStarring: 19-year-old Paulien Mertens, who becomes Vivienne Gregsby and finds a job with an American art collector who shares her passion for post-Impressionist art. Little does he know she's got an ulterior motive.
Why you might like it: Cameos by famous artists and evocative details of Paris in the 1920s add atmosphere to a slow-burning tale of passion, murder, and revenge.
Did you know? Although this novel's characters are fictitious, its featured works of art form the core of the collection at the real-life Barnes Foundation museum in Philadelphia. |
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| The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic SmithWhat it's about: A 17th-century Dutch masterpiece is stolen from a Manhattan residence in 1957 and replaced with a skillfully executed forgery. The switch remains a secret for decades -- until the museum curator who created the fake is confronted by both versions.
Why you might like it: Parallel narratives unfold and eventually converge in this atmospheric novel, which reveals surprising connections among individuals separated by time and geography. |
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The Last Nude
by Ellis Avery
What happens: Agreeing to model nude for Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka to avoid prostitution in 1927 Paris, young American Rafaela Fano inspires the artist's most iconic Jazz Age images and becomes her lover while discovering darker truths about Tamara's private life.
Why you might like it: This is a portion of de Lempicka's complex and interesting life story.
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| Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe by Dawn TrippWhat happens: Once aspiring artist Georgia O'Keeffe becomes the muse and mistress of photographer Alfred Stieglitz, she struggles to be recognized as an artist in her own right -- especially after Stieglitz revives his own flagging career by exhibiting nude portraits of Georgia.
Why you might like it: Emphasizing O'Keeffe's rich inner life, this lyrical novel presents a nuanced portrait of an iconic American artist.
Want a taste? "This is not a love story. If it were, we would have the same story. But he has his, and I have mine." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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BRAZORIA COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM 912 N. Velasco Angleton, Texas 77515 (979) 864-1505bcls.lib.tx.us |
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