|
|
|
|
Historical Fiction December 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
Canticle
by Janet Rich Edwards
Bruges, 13th Century: Aleys, at sixteen, is a spirited young woman, stubborn, bright, and prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, Finn, a young scholar, have been learning Latin together in secret--but just as she thinks their connection might become something more, everything unravels.
Searching for happiness: When her father promises her in marriage to a merchant she doesn't love, she runs away from home, finding shelter among the beguines, a fiercely independent community of religious women who refuse to answer to the Church. Among these hardworking and strong-willed women, Aleys glimpses for the first time the joys of belonging: a life of song, meaning, and friendship in the markets and along the canals of Bruges. But forces both mystical and political are at work...
|
|
| Christmas at the Women's Hotel by Daniel M. LaveryNew York, 1960s: At the Biedermeier Hotel, where unmarried working class women of all ages live, Christmas means jobs - some more legal than others.
Meanwhile: Mrs. Mossler, the hotel manager, ponders a large phone bill, secretive tenants, and missing jewels. Full of period charm and witty narration.
A holiday visit to Katherine, Lucianne, and the residents of the hotel, introduced in The Women's Hotel. |
|
|
|
Christmas with the Queen
by Hazel Gaynor
England, 1952: While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father's Christmas Day radio broadcast. As Christmas preparations begin, old friends--Jack Devereux and Olive Carter--are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, is a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC; Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Jack and Olive's paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases.
Christmas Day, December 1957: As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen's first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver...
|
|
|
|
Edenglassie
by Melissa Lucashenko
Australia, 1854: When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Brisbane - or Edenglassie, as it was once briefly known - his community still outnumbers the British settlers. Tensions are simmering just beneath the surface of a fragile peace, but hopes for independence are running high. Yet when colonial unrest tears through the region, Mulanyin's passion for his new bride clashes with his loyalty to a homeland in danger.
Two centuries later: Fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny when her grandmother Eddie has a serious fall. Winona just wants the obstinate centenarian back on her feet, but a shrewd journalist has other ideas. Eddie becomes a local celebrity, dominating the headlines as 'Queensland's Oldest Aboriginal'. Her time in the spotlight brings past and present crashing together, the legacy of Nita and Mulanyin's tragic past reaching into Winona and Eddie's lives with consequences they couldn't have predicted.
|
|
| The Silver Book by Olivia LaingItaly, 1974: Two men meet in Venice. One, Nicholas, is a young artist, plausible, English, desperate. The other is Danilo Donati, the magician of Italian cinema, the illusionist responsible for realizing the spectacular visions of Fellini and Pasolini. Donati is in Venice to produce sketches for Fellini’s Casanova. A young apprentice is just what he needs.
Rome: Danilo introduces Nicholas to the looking-glass world of Cinecittà, the studio where Casanova’s Venice will be ingeniously assembled. In the spring, the lovers move together to the set of Salò, Pasolini’s horrifying fable of fascism. But Nicholas has a secret, and in this world of constant illusion, his real nature passes unseen. Amid the rising tensions of the Years of Lead, he acts as an accelerant, setting in motion a tragedy he didn’t intend. |
|
|
|
Time of the Child
by Niall Williams
Ireland, 1962: Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father's shadow, and remains there, having missed one chance at love and passed up another offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.
Advent season: As the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy's lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter's lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.
|
|
| Boleyn Traitor by Philippa GregoryEngland, 1530s: Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn's brother, watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where secrets are currency, every choice is dangerous, and even the faintest whisper can seal the fate of queens.
Survival for Jane: It demands playing every role required of her: a loving wife who conceals her doubts, a devoted sister to Anne Boleyn at the height of her power, and an obedient spy who carefully wields her words. But in a court ruled by ambition and a tyrant’s sword, Jane must rely on her sharp wit and skillful maneuvering to outthink those around her, knowing that one wrong move could cost her everything. |
|
|
|
Boudicca's Daughter
by Elodie Harper
Roman Britannia, 60AD: It is a world of shifting alliances and imperial control. The death of the Iceni king divests the royal family of its power and its lands become imperial estates. The queen, Voada, and her two daughters feel the full weight of Roman greed and desire as their world changes dramatically around them.
Seeking revenge: Voada is named the Boudica, the military leader of the resistance movement. She and her daughters, Caitlyn and Keara, hold together a mixed band of disenchanted Britons. Crossing the boundaries of their lands - burning, killing, destroying - they seek the formidable Roman enemy and its collaborators.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books! |
|
|
Longwood Public Library800 Middle Country RoadMiddle Island, New York 11953
(631) 924-6400
longwoodlibrary.org |
|
|
|