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Historical Fiction March 2019
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The Far Field
by Madhuri Vijay
Summary: After the death of her mother, Shalini, a privileged young woman from Bangalore, arrives in Kashmir to confront a man from her mother’s past but instead is brought face to face with the city’s violent politics, forcing her to make a series of difficult choices.
Audience: For those who like to learn more about another country, this is the book for you.
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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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The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding
by Jennifer Robson
What it's about: the friendship between the seamstresses responsible for the intricate embroidery on Princess (soon to be Queen) Elizabeth's wedding dress.
Why you might like it: Parallel narratives, set in 1947 and 2016, converge as a present-day woman solves a family mystery.
You might also like: Liz Trenow's The Forgotten Seamstress, in which vintage clothing similarly connects two women from different eras.
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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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Learning to See : A Novel of Dorothea Lange, the Woman Who Revealed the Real America
by Elise Hooper
About: As America's economy collapses and her marriage founders, photographer Dorothea Lange takes to the road with her two young sons to document the horrific conditions of the nation's poor, creating images that define the era.
Afterward: You will want to take a look at Lange's photos or read a biography of the celebrated photographer.
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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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| The Falcon of Sparta by Conn IgguldenWhat happens: In 401 BCE, King Artaxerxes of Persia attempts to kill his younger brother, Cyrus, who in response raises an army of mercenaries in a daring campaign to take the throne.
Why you might like it: Covering events depicted in Xenophon's Anabasis, this dramatic novel puts readers on the front lines as it depicts grueling marches and bloody battles.
For fans of: the action-packed, ancient-world historical epics of Steven Pressfield or Christian Cameron. |
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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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That Churchill Woman
by Stephanie Barron
Presenting: Lady Randolph Churchill -- née Jennie Jerome, the American heiress who snags a titled husband and scandalizes Victorian England's high society with her political ambition and affaires de coeur.
Why you might like it: This biographical novel offers a sympathetic portrait of an intelligent woman who rebels against the restrictive social mores of the late 19th century.
You might also like: Karen Harper's American Duchess or Therese Anne Fowler's A Well-Behaved Woman, about Gilded Age heiresses who seek personal fulfillment within socially advantageous yet emotionally impoverished marriages.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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