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Historical Fiction January 2020
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And they called it Camelot : a novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
by Stephanie Thornton
America, 1950s-1960s: With the eyes of the world watching, Jackie uses her effortless charm and keen intelligence to carve a place for herself among the men of history and weave a fairy tale for the American people, embodying a senator's wife, a devoted mother, and a First Lady.
What happens: Once JFK travels to Dallas and the clock ticks down those thousand days of magic in Camelot, Jackie is forced to pick up the ruined fragments of her life and forge herself into a new identity that is all her own, that of an American legend.
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Cartier's Hope
by M. J. Rose
New York, 1910: Determined to make her mark in Gilded Age New York, Vera Garland, a woman journalist, investigates rumors and curses swirling around Pierre Cartier’s recently acquired Hope Diamond, before attracting the attention of the blackmailer behind her father’s death.
The excitement: Set against the backdrop of New York's glitter and grit, of ruthless men and the atrocities they commit in the pursuit of power, this enthralling historical novel explores our very human needs for love, retribution, and to pursue one's destiny, regardless of the cost.
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The girl in white gloves : a novel of Grace Kelly
by Kerri Maher
America & Monaco, 1950s-1980's: A vivid reimagining of the exhilarating and sensationalized life of Princess Grace of Monaco.
What happens: MGM's rising queen is poised to win the Oscar. When an unexpected friendship develops between her and Prince Rainier of Monaco, she faces the tempting possibility of a new role. But life isn't like the movies. Conflicted by notions of family, career, and the very nature of womanhood--notions Grace herself shaped for a generation of women--the world's loneliest princess searches for purpose beyond the labels and headlines.
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A long petal of the sea : a novel
by Isabel Allende
Spain, 1930: During the height of civil war, the poet Pablo Neruda charters a ship to Chile to help refugees flee the violence.
The characters: Roser, a pregnant widow and Victor Dalmau, an army doctor. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires. Starting over on a new continent, their trials are just beginning, and over the course of their lives, they will face trial after trial. But they will also find joy as they patiently await the day when they will be exiles no more.
A masterful work about hope, exile, and belonging,
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The Queen's Secret : A Novel of England's World War II Queen
by Karen Harper
England, 1939. When George's brother Edward abdicates, he is thrust onto the throne. As the wife of the King and the mother of the future queen, Elizabeth the queen mother, shows a warm, smiling face to the world. But it's no surprise that Hitler himself calls her the "Most Dangerous Woman in Europe," for behind that soft voice and kindly demeanor is a will of steel.
The secret: Elizabeth holds many powerful cards, but she's also hiding damaging secrets about her past and her provenance that could prove to be her undoing. This is the story of this secret weapon of a matriarch and how she maneuvered her way through one of the most dangerous chapters of the century.
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The architect's apprentice
by Elif Shafak
Istanbul, 1540: This story, spanning almost 100 years, tells of artistic freedom, creativity, and the clash between science and fundamentalism. Its brimming with vibrant characters, intriguing adventure, and the lavish backdrop of the Ottoman court, where love and loyalty are no match for raw power.
What happens: Twelve-year-old Jahan, an animal tamer in the sultan's menagerie is taken under the wing of the empire's chief architect and bears witness to the creation of some of the most magnificent buildings in history. He also befriends (and falls for) the sultan's beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah.
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The black book
by Orhan Pamuk
Istanbul, present: With its cascade of beguiling stories about the city, this is a brilliantly unconventional mystery, and a provocative meditation on identity, and westernization vs. traditional customs.
The mystery: Galip is a lawyer living in Istanbul. His wife, the detective novel–loving Ruya, has disappeared. Could she have left him for her ex-husband or Celâl, a popular newspaper columnist and her half-brother? But Celâl, too, seems to have vanished. As Galip investigates, he finds himself assuming the enviable Celâl's identity, wearing his clothes, answering his phone calls, even writing his columns. Galip pursues every conceivable clue, but the nature of the mystery keeps changing, and when he receives a death threat, he begins to fear the worst.
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Halide's gift : a novel
by Frances Kazan
Constantinople, late-nineteenth-century: In the dying days of the Ottoman empire, this is the story of a family with a secret, and a society in turbulent transition.
Characters: Selima, flamboyant and mischievous, and Mahmoure, shy and full of dreams are from a family with close ties to the sultan. The two sisters, are torn apart by their love for two very different men and by a dangerous political divide. Halide Edib, the daughter of Sultan Abdulhamid’s first secretary, is a young woman of restrained passions and a fiercely independent mind. Her allegiance to the spiritual and traditional world of her mother and grandmother are destined to collide with a tantalizing promise of freedom.
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Last train to Istanbul
by Ayşe Kulin
Turkey and France, WWII: an uplifting tale of love and adventure, with a view of the Turkish people and how they were affected by and responded to the anti-semitism of the time.
The story: Selva, the daughter of one of Turkey’s last Ottoman pashas, marries Rafael Alfandari, the handsome Jewish son of an esteemed court physician, and they move to Paris to build a new life. When the Nazis invade France, a handful of brave Turkish diplomats hatch a plan to spirit the Alfandaris and hundreds of innocents, many of whom are Jewish, to safety. Together, they must traverse a war-torn continent, crossing enemy lines and risking everything in a desperate bid for freedom.
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A strangeness in my mind : a novel
by Orhan Pamuk
Istanbul, 1969-2012: Arriving in Istanbul as a boy, Mevlut Karataş is enthralled by both the old city that is disappearing and the new one that is fast being built. He becomes a street vendor, like his father, hoping to strike it rich.
What happens: Selling Turkish spirits on the street in Istanbul and dreaming of becoming rich, Melvut Karatas elopes with the wrong woman and builds a family over decades marked by a series of dead-end jobs and an enduring sense of his unique destiny
Explores: the tensions of urban life, family life, and the fury and helplessness of women inside their homes.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Longwood Public Library800 Middle Country RoadMiddle Island, New York 11953(631) 924-6400longwoodlibrary.org |
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