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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 Last Tudor by Philippa GregoryStarring: Lady Jane Grey and her sisters, Katherine and Mary, all potential heirs to the disputed throne of England.
For fans of: Susan Higginbotham's Her Highness, the Traitor, which also depicts the political drama of the succession crisis caused by Henry VIII's death.
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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A Dangerous Inheritance: A Novel of Tudor Rivals and the Secret of the Tower
by Alison Weir
What it is: A tale inspired by the life of Lady Jane Gray's younger sister, Katherine, interweaving the tragic story of her imprisonment in the Tower of London with the fates of three other innocent political prisoners including Kate Plantagenet and boy princes Edward and Richard.
Reviewers say: "With its evident in-depth research and creative twists, this tale of two women trying to make sense of the power of the English crown, particularly as it relates to their own fate, is nothing short of riveting" (Library Journal).
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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 enmity 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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The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine De Medici
by Jeanne Kalogridis
What it is: A tale based on the life of the sixteenth-century monarch describes her status as a Machiavellian pawn before her marriage to Henry II of France, her rivalry with her husband's conniving mistress, and her determined efforts to keep her sons on the throne.
Reviewers say: "Seasoned historic novelist Kalogridis (The Borgia Bride) nails the palace intrigue and lush pageantry of the Renaissance" (Publishers Weekly).
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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