|
Historical Fiction May 2019
|
|
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
Beautiful Revolutionary
by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
Starring: Evelyn Lynden, a woman at war with herself. Minister’s daughter. Atheist. Independent woman. Frustrated wife. Bitch with a bleeding heart. Anxious for a saviour.
Enter: Reverend Jim Jones, the dynamic leader of a revolutionary church destined for tragedy.
Reviewers say: "Despite the well-known end to her tale, Woollett maintains the tension and uncertainty that must have defined the group's last days. Wollett turns a dark chapter in U.S. history into a deeply human, satisfying read for fans of Emma Cline's The Girls." (Booklist)
|
|
|
Lost roses : a novel
by Martha Hall Kelly
What it's about: Based on true events, a tale set a generation before Lilac Girls traces the stories of three women, including Caroline Ferriday's mother, a Romanov cousin and a fortune-teller's daughter, against a backdrop of the Russian revolution and World War I.
For fans of: Marie Benedict, Lisa See, Amor Towles.
Reviewers say: "Kelly memorably portrays three indomitable women who triumph over hardships and successfully brings a complex and turbulent time in history to life." (Publishers Weekly)
|
|
| The Parisian by Isabella HammadIntroducing: Midhat Kamal, the Sorbonne-educated son of a wealthy Palestinian textile merchant who finds himself caught between cultures.
What happens: Known as "the Parisian" in his hometown of Nablus, a small village "north of Jerusalem, south of Damascus," Midhat has a front-row seat to history as colonial powers squabble over his homeland.
Reviewers say: a "dazzling debut novel" (The New York Times). |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence: A Story of Botticelli by Alyssa PalomboWhat it's about: Dubbed "la bella Simonetta" by Florentine society, Simonetta Vespucci becomes the muse of artist Sandro Botticelli and the inspiration for some of his most famous paintings.
Why you might like it: this lush, romantic novel brings the Italian Renaissance to vibrant life.
For fans of: Sarah Dunant's The Birth of Venus, Jeanne Kalogridis' I, Mona Lisa, or Lynn Cullen's The Creation of Eve. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contactthe Winfield Public Library 630-653-7599, 0S291 Winfield Rd.
Winfield, IL 60190
|
|
|