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Historical Fiction October 2017
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We were strangers once : a novel
by Betsy Carter
Escaping Germany on the eve of World War II, a successful Jewish doctor and son of two famous naturalists finds himself in a tight-knit group of fellow immigrants in Manhattan who share the stories of respective degradations and triumphs.
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This is how it begins : a novel
by Joan Dempsey
In 2009, eighty-five-year-old art professor Ludka Zeilonka gets drawn into a political firestorm when her grandson Tommy is among a group of gay Massachusetts teachers fired for allegedly silencing Christian kids in high school classrooms. The ensuing battle to reinstate the teachers raises the specter of Ludka's World War II past--a past she's spent a lifetime trying to forget ... As Ludka's influential family defends Tommy under increasingly vicious conditions, a stranger with connections to her past shows up and threatens to expose her for illegally hoarding a valuable painting presumed stolen by the Nazis. Only one other person knew about the painting--a man Ludka's been trying to find for sixty years
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| The World of Tomorrow by Brendan MathewsIn a madcap adventure that should please fans of Roddy Doyle's The Last Roundup trilogy, three Irish brothers -- a convict, a jazz musician, and a seminarian -- escape to the United States after running afoul of the IRA. Set against the backdrop of the 1939 New York World's Fair, this lively debut boasts a cast of appealing characters and the "wit of a 30s screwball comedy" (Publishers Weekly). |
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All that makes life bright : the life and love of Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Josi S Kilpack
Resolving to pursue her literary life and retain her identity after marrying the supportive, deeply religious Calvin Stowe, Harriet Beecher is overwhelmed by a pregnancy while her husband travels in Europe, a situation that makes her question her place in her husband's heart.
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| Under a Pole Star: A Novel by Stef PenneyWhaler's daughter Flora Mackie is 12 years old in 1883 when she first crosses the Arctic Circle, igniting a lifelong passion for polar exploration. However, her desire to attend university and dedicate her life to scientific discovery places her at odds with Victorian society. This haunting, character-driven novel by the author of The Tenderness of Wolves, may appeal to fans of the independent and unconventional heroines of Eowyn Ivey's To the Bright Edge of the World and Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things. |
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Focus on: Queens of England
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| Elizabeth I by Margaret GeorgeWell-known for her biographical novels about powerful, much-mythologized female rulers (including Cleopatra and Mary, Queen of Scots), author Margaret George attempts to unknot the tangled relationship between Queen Elizabeth I of England and Lettice Knollys, her cousin and rival, whose marriage to Elizabeth's favorite courtier, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, incurs the monarch's wrath. This "meticulously envisioned" (Booklist) dual portrait compares and contrasts the self-sacrificing Virgin Queen, wedded to her beloved England, and the thrice-married, self-serving Lettice, who, as it turns out, may not be that different from her royal relative. |
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| Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa GregoryAs girls, Katherine of Aragon and her sisters-in-law, Margaret and Mary Tudor, form a strong, if complicated, bond. As adults, they are destined to become bitter rivals as the demands of marriage and politics lead to betrayal. Unfolding primarily from Margaret's (acerbic) point of view, this dramatic novel is a must for Tudor aficionados who enjoy gossip, scandal, and intrigue. |
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| Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: A Novel by Alison WeirThis opening installment of novelist and historian Alison Weir's Six Tudor Queens series begins as the 16-year-old Catalina de Aragon arrives in England to marry Arthur, Prince of Wales, who dies shortly after their wedding. She then weds his brother, Henry VIII, and theirs is a happy union -- at least initially, until their inability to produce an heir causes Henry's eye to wander. Can't get enough Tudor drama? Next up is Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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