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Historical Fiction August 2025 |
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| Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite ClaytonAmid McCarthyism in 1957, Isabella Giori dreams of being Alfred Hitchcock's favorite blonde actress. But while temporarily staying at a Carmel-by-the-Sea cottage, she becomes friends with blacklisted writer Leo, changing both of their lives. In 2018, Leo's granddaughter clears out his cottage after his death, meeting his neighbor Isabella and finding secrets in his safe. Read-alikes: Susan Meissner's A Map to Paradise; Sarah Jane Stratford's Red Letter Days. |
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| The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin HarmelIn Nazi-occupied France, Colette Marceau's mother is executed while her four-year-old sister disappears and is later found dead. Trained by her mother, Colette becomes a jewel thief, targeting the bad to give to the good, and in 2018 Boston, she's still working when a special bracelet linked to her sister appears in a museum. Elderly Colette seeks answers, hoping to finally learn what happened decades ago in this sweeping dual-timeline tale. Read-alike: Pam Jenoff's Last Twilight in Paris. |
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The Californians
by Brian Castleberry
Tobey Harlan's theft of his father's paintings by controversial artist Di Stiegl intersects with the century-spanning saga of Di's rise in 1980s New York and her grandfather Klaus's transformation into a silent film director in early Hollywood.
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| Days of Light by Megan HunterOn Easter Sunday, 1938, 19-year-old Ivy is questioning her path in life when her older brother goes missing while swimming at their English estate, reshaping her world. Taking place on this and five other significant days in Ivy's life, this thoughtful novel follows her as she grows close to her brother's fiancée, marries, has children, and makes changes in her later years. Read-alikes: Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep; Virginia Woolf's novels. |
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| Wayward Girls by Susan WiggsThis moving novel of survival, friendship, and redemption follows six teenage girls at an abusive Catholic reform school in 1968 Buffalo, New York, who have been sent there due to pregnancy, lesbianism, or to protect them from family members. Based on a real place, this character-driven novel also revisits the girls in later years. For fans of: Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These; Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys; V.S. Alexander's The Magdalen Girls. |
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The Dressmakers of London
by Julia Kelly
After their mother's unexpected death, Isabelle Shelton and her estranged sister Sylvia inherit the family dressmaking shop, prompting Izzie to reluctantly seek Sylvia's help to save it while aiming to buy her out, leading to letters that explore old wounds and the possibility of reconciliation within their shared legacy
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To Save the Man
by John Sayles
At the Carlisle Indian School in 1890, young Native students are forced to abandon their culture under the brutal hand of Captain Pratt, while whispers of the ghost dance spread across the Plains, offering a glimmer of hope and rebellion against the inevitable bloodshed looming on the horizon.
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The Lilac People
by Milo Todd
Moving back and forth in time, this poignant debut follows trans man Bertie and his girlfriend Sofie living happily in 1930s Berlin before Nazi persecution forces them to hide on a farm. In 1945, they risk everything to protect a young trans Holocaust survivor since even the Allies are arresting some LGBTQIA+ people. This "well-written, engrossing story full of suspense" (Library Journal) details a lesser-known aspect of World War II.
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A Map to Paradise
by Susan Meissner
In 1956 California, actress Melanie Cole is blacklisted by association, reducing her circle to her European maid Eva, her agoraphobic screenwriter neighbor Elwood, and his sister-in-law caregiver, June. When Elwood disappears, Melanie enlists Eva get to close to June and find Elwood as wildfires draw close. Read-alike: Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne's The Starlets.
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The Owl Was a Baker's Daughter
by Grace Tiffany
Explores themes of motherhood, friendship, and loss amid societal upheaval as the titular heroine, a midwife-apothecary, flees her troubled marriage and accusations of witchcraft in 17th-century Stratford, accompanied by a zealous Puritan and her child amidst the backdrop of civil war.
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The Fisherman's Gift
by Julia R. Kelly
In a snowbound Scottish fishing village in 1900, teacher Dorothy cares for a mysterious boy who resembles her lost son, unearthing buried secrets, confronting past love, and testing the fragile bonds of a tight-knit community.
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The Jackal's Mistress
by Chris Bohjalian
With her Confederate husband in a Union prison, Libby Steadman runs their gristmill in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, helped only by her 12-year-old niece, a 60-year-old freedman, and his freed wife. Libby faces many dangers as war surrounds her, especially when she hides an injured Union officer.
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The Stars and Their Light
by Olivia Hawker
In 1947, Sister Mary Agnes arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, to establish a monastery amid growing rumors of a UFO crash. As faith falters and townspeople turn their eyes from heaven to the stars, she befriends Betty, a teen mysteriously altered by the event, and Harvey, a handyman who witnessed it. But as Mary Agnes tries to restore spiritual order, strange truths -- and her own doubts -- begin to rise. Caught between the church she serves and the mysteries stirring within her, she must choose between doctrine and a new, unsettling faith.
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The Library of Lost Dollhouses
by Elise Hooper
A young librarian who discovers historic dollhouses and embarks on a journey to uncover the hidden secrets behind the intricate miniatures.
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The Midnight Secret
by Karen Swan
Jayne Ferguson's life on the isle of St Kilda is filled with secrets and burdens. Despite marrying the most handsome man on the island, she suffers in a troubled marriage with a bully. Her inherited gift of second sight only brings her visions of death, adding to her isolation. When a tragic death occurs, her situation worsens, but she finds unexpected comfort in a new friendship.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Côte Saint-Luc Public Library
5851 Cavendish Blvd.
Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec H4W 2X8
514-485-6900csllibrary.org/ |
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