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Historical Fiction March 2022 |
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| Love & Saffron by Kim FayWhat it is: a heartwarming story an unlikely yet enduring friendship that begins in 1962 when 59-year-old food writer Imogen Fortier receives a fan letter from 27-year-old Joan Bergstrom and Imogen decides, on a whim, to reply.
Read it for: the thoughtful, likeable characters; the unique, intergenerational perspective each woman brings to contemporary events such as the Kennedy assassination and Cuban Missile Crisis.
Reviewers say: "Fay’s emotionally generous novel demonstrates how people’s worlds can expand when they open themselves to new possibilities" (Booklist). |
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| Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline FrostWhat it's about: This blend of thriller and coming-of-age story set in 1970s Texas and follows journey of teenage foster kid Kit Walker as she's pulled into and works to escape from a life of crime.
Why you might like it: the dialect-filled writing style; the grit and strength Kit brings to rebuilding her life as an adult.
Is it for you? Although the complex, flawed characters in Shadows are compelling to watch, the novel explores many difficult topics such as domestic abuse, grooming, and intergenerational trauma. |
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| The Christie Affair by Nina de GramontWhat it is: an atmospheric and intricately plotted attempt to answer the many questions that linger about the 11-day disappearance of author Agatha Christie during December of 1926.
Try these next: A View of the Empire at Sunset by Caryl Phillips; The Arrangement by Ashley Warlick.
Book buzz: " This is an enjoyable reimagining of a scandal whose exact nature remains a puzzle a century later" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Berlin Exchange by Joseph KanonThe premise: American physicist Martin Keller has been in prison for spying for the KGB for more than a decade when in 1963, he is suddenly released into East Berlin as part of a prisoner exchange.
The problem: Martin wants out of the Eastern Bloc for many reasons, including the chance to pursue more advanced treatment for the cancer killing his former wife Sabine and the certain knowledge he will be pressured back into espionage work by both sides of the Cold War.
For fans of: espionage thrillers with a strong sense of place and well-developed characters, especially spies who come in from the cold. |
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| The Torqued Man by Peter MannPicture it: 1945 in Berlin, only a few months after the end of the war. In the search for evidence of war crimes and Nazi collaboration two remarkable, contradictory manuscripts are discovered that each detail Irishman Frank Pike's wartime activities and create a compelling portrait of a complex and flawed (but always fascinating) man.
Is it for you? Though the novel takes its subject matter seriously, the parallel narratives contain surprising moments of dark humor that may not strike the right tone with all readers.
Reviewers say: "A wily spy novel with a human touch" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'NeillWhat it is: a descriptive look at a complex, toxic friendship between two socialites in that begins in 1870s Montreal and ends in murder.
Don't miss: the compelling, gender-nonconforming character George, a midwife whose relatively brief involvement with the protagonists proves to be crucial to the dark events to come.
For fans of: the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures; the Chantal Thomas novel Farewell, My Queen and its 2012 movie adaptation. |
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| The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison PatakiWhat it's about: the remarkable life of American heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, which contained privilege and heartbreak in equal measure.
Reviewers say: "Fans of memoirs and novels about the Gilded Age should enjoy this well-researched book and its fascinating subject" (Library Journal).
Did you know? Post was the original builder and owner of the mansion-turned-resort Mar-a-Lago. |
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| The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai RandelWhat it is: a moving and atmospheric tale of survival and forbidden love in 1940 Shanghai, during the Japanese occupation of the city.
Read it for: the sweeping, dramatic storyline and rich historical detail.
About the author: Weina Dai Randel's previous novels include The Moon in the Palace and Empress of Bright Moon, a duology about China's only empress regnant Wu Zeitan. |
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| Black Cake by Charmaine WilkersonWhat it's about: Estranged siblings Byron and Benny reunite in an attempt to piece together the puzzling inheritance left by their recently deceased mother Eleanor -- a lengthy audio recording and a traditional Caribbean fruit cake left behind in her freezer.
Why you might like it: the lush, engaging, character-driven story Eleanor reveals about a massive secret she left behind in the 1960s.
Reviewers say: "Readers will adore this highly accomplished effort from a talented new writer" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Atlantic County Library System | 40 Farragut Avenue, Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Phone: (609) 625-2776 | www.atlanticlibrary.org
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|  | Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson
Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, Maureen Kern, Chairwoman |
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