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Historical Fiction September 2019
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What it's about: the Lost Generation of those who lived through World War I – and what came after. As seen through the eyes of: Violet Speedwell, a so-called "surplus woman" trying to make it on her own as a typist and still grieving the loss of her brother fourteen years after the end of the Great War. For fans of: the lives of the underclass, strong female bonds, atmospheric settings, and bittersweet stories
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What it's about: the real-life hero Truus Wijsmuller, who helped smuggle 600 children out of Nazi Germany and into England through the Kindertransport, and the fictional lives of those living in Vienna at the time of her daring operation. Why you might like it: this novel deftly weaves together the imagined lives of Vienna teenagers under German occupation with the true story of a leader of the Dutch resistance. Try this next: Alice Hoffman's The World that We Knew, which also features courageous younger characters and families struggling with the war while exploring themes of survival and devotion
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What it is: the tale of a serial killer in 1880s New York City who lures women in by promising safe abortions, and the female obstetricians who assist in the investigation. Why you might like it: the author weaves together the stories of a large cast of characters in this intricately plotted, compelling novel. Series alert: this is the sequel to Donati's 2015 novel, The Gilded Hour.
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| The Ventriloquists: A Novel by E.R. RamzipoorBelgium, 1943: Ordered to produce pro-Nazi propaganda, a group of journalists and resistance fighters instead publish a parody newspaper mocking the Fuhrer, knowing full well it will be the last thing they ever do.
Why you might like it: Inspired by true events, this well-researched novel boasts a briskly paced storyline, a balanced blend of humor and suspense, and an LBGTQIA-diverse cast that takes turns narrating.
For fans of: Paul Goldberg's The Yid, which similarly unspools a madcap scheme to thwart fascists by a group of marginalized intellectuals. |
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| The Women of the Copper Country: A Novel by Mary Doria RussellStarring: Labor activist Annie Clements, who in 1913 led a strike against a Montana copper-mining company.
Is it for you? Closer in tone to Doc than The Sparrow, this well-researched historical novel unfolds from multiple perspectives, all rendered in lyrical prose.
Want a taste? "Running lengthwise down the peninsula's center, like the blood gutter of a bayonet, are the richest copper desposits on earth." |
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The Daring Ladies of Lowell
by
Kate Alcott
What it's about: In 1832, Alice Barrow leaves her family's New Hampshire farm to find work at a textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Complications ensue: While Alice finds camaraderie with her fellow "mill girls," she's troubled by the dangerous working conditions and conflicted by her feelings for Samuel Fiske, the mill owner's son.
Reviewers say: a "spirited story of young working women making hard choices" (Kirkus Reviews).
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| The Last Ballad by Wiley CashWhy you might like it: Set in 1929 North Carolina, this novel follows millworker and single mother Ella May Wiggins as she risks everything to join a union.
About the author: CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning author Wiley Cash is best known for his rural noir, including A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy.
For fans of: Ron Rash, Daniel Woodrell, or Doug Marlette. |
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| Work Song by Ivan DoigWhat happens: First introduced in The Whistling Season, itinerant scapegrace Morrie Morgan arrives in Butte, Montana, where he becomes the town's librarian and gets caught up in a labor dispute between the Anaconda Copper Company and its workers.
For fans of: warmhearted tales of the American West featuring compelling characters and a strong sense of place.
Want a taste? "I happily stepped into that role of librarian as bartender of information. Presiding over shelves of intoxicating items, dispensing whatever brand of knowledge was ordered up, I am sure I poured generously." |
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| The Widows by Jess MontgomeryThe setting: 1924, Kinship, Ohio, a hardscrabble coal-mining town in the throes of worker unrest.
Starring: Lily Ross, the new acting sheriff of Bronwyn County, and Marvena Whitcomb, a miner's widow turned union organizer.
What happens: After Lily's husband, the sheriff, is murdered and Marvena's daughter goes missing, the two women team up to discover what happened -- and unearth layer upon layer of secrets and lies. |
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| Swimming in the Moon by Pamela SchoenewaldtIntroducing: Lucia Esposito and her mother Teresa, Italian immigrants who arrive in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1904.
What happens: Amid the hardships of their new life, Teresa's untreated mental illness undermines her vaudeville career, while Lucia becomes a labor activist and participates in a garment workers' strike.
About the author: Pamela Schoenewaldt's previous novel, When We Were Strangers, also examined the American immigrant experience. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Demarest Free Public Library |
90 Hardenburgh Ave. |
Demarest, New Jersey 07627 |
(201) 768-8714 |
demarestlibrary.org |
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