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Historical Fiction January 2018
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| Mrs. Osmond: A Novel by John BanvilleStarring: Isabel Archer, heroine of The Portrait of a Lady, in a sequel to Henry James' classic novel.
Book buzz: Critics are raving about this "superb Henry James pastiche" (The Guardian), an "epochal act of imitation, salutation, and imagination" (NPR) that evokes "James's limpid prose, deft plotting, and finely limned characterization" (Library Journal, starred review).
You might also like: Colm Tóibín's The Master, an introspective novel that examines Henry James' personal life. |
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| Enchantress of Numbers: A Novel of Ada Lovelace by Jennifer ChiaveriniIntroducing: Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace: the mathematician (and daughter of Romantic poet Lord Byron) who's widely considered to be the first computer programmer.
Why you might like it: This fictional memoir illuminates Ada's complicated personal life as well as her professional partnerships with Charles Babbage and Mary Somerville.
Try this next: Joan Spicci's Beyond the Limit, about Sofya Kovalevskaya, stars another unconventional 19th-century woman mathematician. |
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| Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors by Conn IgguldenWhat it's about: This concluding volume of the Wars of the Roses series traces the fall of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors.
For fans of: the intricate dynastic politics of Sharon Kay Penman's historical sagas and the fast-paced, visceral military action of Bernard Cornwell's novels.
You might also like: Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, which depicts this period from the perspective of the women involved. |
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The Girls in the Picture by Melanie BenjaminWhat it's about: Tells about the friendship between two of early Hollywood's most successful women, writer Frances Marion and actress Mary Pickford.For fans of: Silent movie era Hollywood, with cameos by Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, and Lillian Gish.You might also like: Laura Moriarty's The Chaperone, tells the story of a woman chaperoning the soon to be starlet, Louise Brooks, on her first trip to New York.
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| Moloka'i by Alan BrennertWhat it's about: At age 7, Honolulu resident Rachel Kalama contracts leprosy (Hansen's disease). Forcibly separated from her family, she spends the next several decades in the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, where she builds a life for herself.
Further reading: To learn more about the history of the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement and its 8,500-plus inhabitants, pick up John Tayman's nonfiction book, The Colony. |
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| The Anchoress by Robyn CadwalladerWhat it's about: In 1255 England, 17-year-old Sarah becomes an anchoress of the Church of St. Juliana. Confined to a tiny chamber measuring nine by seven paces, Sarah prays that her cell will protect her from life's dangers. Alas, even stone walls can't keep the world at bay.
Want a taste? "Here I will stay forever; this is the home I have chosen."
Try this next: For another lyrical, reflective novel about the life of a medieval anchoress, check out Mary Sharratt's Illuminations, about Hildegard of Bingen. |
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| A Piece of the World: A Novel by Christina Baker KlineFeaturing: Christina Olson, a disabled woman who lives a solitary life on her family's farm in rural Maine before befriending artist Andrew Wyeth and becoming the subject of his iconic painting, "Christina's World."
For fans of: engaging and richly detailed historical novels that imagine the creation of famous artworks, such as Gloria Goldreich's The Bridal Chair or Maureen Gibbon's Paris Red. |
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| The Wind Is Not a River: A Novel by Brian PaytonWhat it's about: In 1943, journalist John Easley embeds with a bomber crew headed for the Japanese-occupied Aleutian Islands. Shot down over the island of Attu, John and aviator Karl Bitburg must survive while evading enemy soldiers.
Why you might like it: Focusing on the only World War II battle to be fought on North American soil, this compelling novel movingly recreates a little-known historical event through the eyes of its sympathetic characters. |
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| The Light Between Oceans: A Novel by M.L. StedmanWhat it's about: An emotionally scarred World War I veteran becomes a lighthouse keeper on a small island off the coast of Australia. When a boat washes ashore carrying an infant girl, he and his wife decide to keep the baby -- a decision with far-reaching consequences.
You might also like: Karen Viggers' The Lightkeeper's Wife, another moving novel about a lighthouse keeper who starts an unconventional family on an isolated island off the coast of Australia. |
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E-Resources @ Your Library
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hoopla
Hoopla allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV! With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later. We have hundreds of thousands of titles for ALL ages to choose from, with new titles being added daily.
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Always Available eBooks
These eBooks are always available so you'll never have to wait on a holds list for a title! You can read titles in your browser without having to worry about a checkout period or you can download these eBooks to your computer, laptop, or mobile device and borrow them for a period of 1-14 days, you choose!
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To kick off our first-ever Let's Talk About It, Oklahoma series, join us at Capitol Hill Library as we explore the renowned coming-of-age novel, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. For this book, there will be a session led in English by guest scholar Tracy Floreani on Monday, Jan. 29 and a separate session led in Spanish by guest scholar Mark Griffin on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Please be sure to stop by the Capitol Hill Library to pick up a copy of the book (in English or in Spanish) to read before coming to one of the sessions!
Presented by Oklahoma Humanities through a generous grant, Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma (LTAIO) offers more than your average book club for adults. With the added benefit of a humanities scholar to inform and broaden discussions, participants are able to explore the human experience through literature in meaningful and thought-provoking ways.
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Come join us at the Downtown Library to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the sit-in movement with historian Bruce Fisher. Most remember February 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina as the beginning of this movement, but it really started much closer to home. On August 19th, 1958, Clara Luper and 13 other members of the Youth Council staged the first sit-in protest in Oklahoma City. Come learn more about this historic movement along with ground breaking research into NAACP archives and first hand interviews from protesters that lived the movement.
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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