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Historical Fiction June 2025 |
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| My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel AllendeRaised by her Irish former nun mother and a loving stepdad in San Francisco, Emilia del Valle never knows her Chilean aristocrat father. As a young journalist covering the Chilean Civil War of 1891, she begins a romance and also meets the father who abandoned her. Isabel Allende fans will relish reading about the del Valles, whose various members often appear in her work. Try this next: Kaitlyn Greenidge's Libertie. Also available on Libby |
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| Gabriële by Anne Berest and Claire BerestTalented young French musician Gabriële Buffet meets mercurial Spanish artist Francis Picabia in 1908 and soon marries him. In Paris, the couple grows close with artist Marcel Duchamp while embracing the avant-garde as World War I approaches. Written by two of Buffet's great-granddaughters, this eye-opening biographical novel spotlights a woman integral to art history. Try this next: Jeanne Mackin's Picasso's Lovers. |
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| The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie BostwickIn 1963 suburban Virginia, four married women form a book club: arty newcomer Charlotte; former Army nurse Vivian, now pregnant with her seventh child; Ohio transplant and mom-to-three Margaret; and newlywed Bitsy, who'd dreamed of being a veterinarian. Starting with Betty Friedan's controversial The Feminine Mystique, the women read, change, and draw closer over the course of a year. For fans of: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Available on Libby and cloudLibrary |
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| These Days by Lucy CaldwellGermany rains bombs on Northern Ireland's capital city in spring 1941. Navigating the destruction, sisters Emma, who's secretly in love with coworker Sylvia, and Audrey, who's not-so-happily engaged, do what they can to help others while questioning their futures. For more historical fiction about the Belfast Blitz, read Melanie Maure's Sisters of Belfast or S. Kirk Walsh's The Elephant of Belfast. Available on Libby |
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| The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan HenryIn 1927, a famed author leaves her South Carolina home in the middle of the night. In 1952 London, Charles Jameson finds the author's papers and a letter addressed to Clara, the daughter she left behind. This soon leads Charles, Clara, and Clara's young daughter to the Lake District in search of answers. Try these next: Rhys Bowen's The Tuscan Child; Ann Hood's The Stolen Child. |
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| Six Days in Bombay by Alka JoshiWhispers of independence swirl in 1930s Bombay, India, as young Anglo-Indian nurse Sona bonds with her latest charge, famous painter Mira Novak, who's also mixed race. After Mira dies, Sona is determined to honor her new friend's request: hand-delivering paintings to people in Prague, Florence, and Paris. Read-alike: Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. |
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| The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall KellyInspired by real events, this compelling novel follows Mari Starwood in 2016 as she visits reclusive Martha's Vineyard painter Elizabeth, who has ties to Mari's recently deceased mother. Elizabeth tells Mari about the island during World War II, focusing on two teenage sisters who form a book club, run the family farm, and look for German U-boats and spies. For fans of: Madeline Martin's The Last Bookshop in London; Amy Lynne Green's The Blackout Book Club. Available on Libby |
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| The Eights by Joanna MillerIn 1920, Oxford University admits degree-seeking women for the first time. On Corridor Eight, insecure Beatrice, socialite Otto, scholarship student Marianne, and grieving Dora bond as they navigate sexism, personal loss, societal expectations, and the lingering trauma of World War I. This well-researched, character-driven debut will please fans of Natalie Jenner's Bloomsbury Girls and Dorothy L. Sayers' Gaudy Night. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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