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Historical Fiction April 2018
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| Bachelor Girl by Kim van AlkemadeWhat happens: In 1939, Colonel Jacob Ruppert, the millionaire owner of the New York Yankees, dies and leaves a substantial bequest to an obscure actress. But why?
Read it for: long-buried secrets revealed through alternating first-person accounts; a vivid evocation of 1920s and '30s New York City.
Author alert: Kim van Alkemade returns with another moving and richly detailed novel that shifts between time periods and perspectives. |
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| White Houses by Amy BloomStarring: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena "Hick" Hickok, whose decades-long love affair profoundly influences their lives and careers.
What reviewers say: "Bloom brings the Roosevelts and their world vividly to the page, giving an unforgettable voice to the larger-than-life Lorena. An original, richly textured, and beautifully written love story." (Library Journal) |
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| The Sparsholt Affair by Alan HollinghurstWhat it's about: a scandal involving four Oxford chums, whose repercussions will still be felt decades later.
Introducing: narrator Freddie Green; aspiring artist Peter Coyle; dilettante Evert Dax; and David Sparsholt, the engineering student who becomes the object of the trio's mutual obsession.
What reviewers say: "Hollinghurst's sprawling novel, suffused with lust and longing, movingly portrays the generational shift in gay experience and acceptance. Warmly recommended." (Library Journal) |
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| I Was Anastasia by Ariel LawhonStarring: Two women -- Anna Anderson and Anastasia Romanov -- who may or may not be the same person.
Want a taste? "Am I truly Anastasia Romanov? A beloved daughter. A revered icon. A Russian grand duchess. Or am I an impostor? A fraud. A liar. The thief of another woman's legacy."
What reviewers say: "If you want to relive the legend of -Anastasia, this engrossing tale will not disappoint. Readable, masterful, and grisly, it entices belief." (Library Journal) |
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| The Pagan Lord by Bernard CornwellStarring: Uhtred of Bebbanburg, whose efforts to reclaim his ancestral Northumbrian estate places him in the path of invading Norsemen.
Why you might like it: This fast-paced, action-packed novel also offers a richly detailed depiction of a 10th-century Britain riven by conflict between Saxons and Danes, pagans and Christians.
Media buzz: Bernard Cornwell's popular Saxon Stories books are the basis of the television series The Last Kingdom. |
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| The Broken Land: A People of the Longhouse Novel by W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal GearFeaturing: Odion, known as Sky Messenger, and Wrass, now War Chief Hiyawento, who must unite warring peoples to fight their common enemy.
Read it for: a well-researched look at the northern Iroquois civilization of pre-colonial North America.
Can you start here? Although this 3rd book in the People of the Longhouse series stands on its own, The Broken Land's protagonists were introduced as children in previous installments. |
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| Hawk Quest by Robert LyndonWhat it's about: In 1072 England, Frankish mercenary Vallon embarks on an unusual quest: obtaining four white gyrfalcons in order to ransom a nobleman's son from an Anatolian prison.
What sets it apart: Hawk Quest takes its characters far beyond the boundaries of their homelands, revealing the geographical and political complexity of medieval European civilization.
For fans of: the well-researched yet exciting historical adventure stories of Bernard Cornwell or Conn Iggulden. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Winfield, IL 60190
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