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Historical Fiction March 2019
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A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts
by Therese Anne Fowler
What happens: Alva Smith, penniless but pedigreed, sets her sights on William K. Vanderbilt, heir to a railroad fortune. She soon learns that while money may provide security, it can't buy happiness.
Read it for: a richly detailed depiction of high society life during America's Gilded Age.
You might also like: Karen Harper's American Duchess, about William and Alva's daughter Consuelo.
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| Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan BrennertWhat it is: the long-awaited sequel to Moloka'i, which follows Ruth Utagawa, the daughter of Rachel Kalama.
The story: Born in the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement, Ruth grows up in California on her Japanese adoptive parents' farm. When World War II begins, the entire family is sent to an internment camp.
Try this next: Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine offers a similarly moving and richly detailed fictional account of this dark chapter in American history. |
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All the Lives We Never Lived
by Anuradha Roy
What it's about: In 1937, nine-year-old Myshkin Chand Rozario's artist mother, Gayatri, abandoned him in order to follow her muse. Decades later, he receives a packet of her letters, in which she describes the circumstances that led to her decision.
Why you might like it: The personal becomes political as Myshkin's coming-of-age parallels India's struggle for independence.
You might also like: Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, another lyrical and keenly observed novel about a troubled Indian family that unfolds against a backdrop of political unrest.
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| The Night Tiger by Yangsze ChooIntroducing: Ji Lin, a seamstress who moonlights as a dance-hall girl in 1930s colonial Malaysia, and Ren, an 11-year-old Chinese houseboy who has made a promise to carry out his employer's dying wish.
What happens: The discovery of a severed finger is the catalyst for multiple, ultimately converging, narratives.
Is it for you? Like The Ghost Bride, author Yangsze Choo's debut, The Night Tiger's subtle supernatural elements evoke Malay folklore. |
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| American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt by Karen HarperStarring: American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, who weds the Duke of Marlborough to please her social climbing family.
Want a taste? "Everyone was calling it the wedding of the century. I was calling it the worst day of my life."
You might also like: Therese Fowler's A Well-Behaved Woman, about Consuelo's mother Alma Vanderbilt or Daisy Goodwin's The American Heiress, which is loosely based on Consuelo's marriage. |
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| Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth LettsStarring: Maud Gage Baum, wife of author L. Frank Baum, and Judy Garland, the 15-year-old actress portraying Dorothy in MGM's adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
What happens: Although she comes to Hollywood to guard her late husband's literary legacy, Maud realizes that it's Judy, vulnerable and mistreated, who needs her protection.
Why you might like it: Finding Dorothy reveals the stories behind the creation of a beloved series of books and the making of a classic movie. |
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| The Age of Light: A Novel by Whitney ScharerWhat it is: an atmospheric biographical novel about American photographer Lee Miller.
More than a muse: Though best known for her involvement with fellow artist Man Ray, Miller also models for Vogue, studies painting, becomes a war correspondent, and later, finds fame as a food writer.
For fans of: the artistic expats in Paula McLain's The Paris Wife, the complex protagonist of William Boyd's Sweet Caress, or the intrepid female war correspondents of Meg Clayton White's The Race for Paris. |
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| Cherokee America by Margaret VerbleIntroducing: "Check" Singer, the no-nonsense matriarch of a mixed-race family in 1875 Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). She's got a husband to bury, five sons to raise, a farm to run, and a community to hold together in the face of violence and oppression.
Why you might like it: a strong sense of place and a diverse cast of authentic characters make this novel a memorable read.
About the author: Margaret Verble's previous novel, Maud's Line, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Verble drew on her own family history to write Cherokee Nation, which took her 20 years to complete. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Richmond Public Library 101 E. Franklin Street Richmond, VA 23219 (804)646-7223
rvalibrary.org
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