| The Jackal's Mistress by Chris BohjalianWith her Confederate husband in a Union prison, Libby Steadman runs their gristmill in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, helped only by her 12-year-old niece, a 60-year-old freedman, and his freed wife. Libby faces many dangers as war surrounds her, especially when she hides an injured Union officer. If you enjoy this fast-paced book, which is based on a true story, try Paulette Jiles' Chenneville or Robert Hicks' Widow of the South. |
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Six days in Bombay
by Alka Joshi
This sweeping novel follows young Anglo-Indian nurse Sona as she embarks on a journey from her home in Bombay, through Prague, Florence, Paris and London, to uncover a mystery and prove her innocence after famous painter Mira Novak dies in her care.
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| Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher MurrayIn 1919, Jessie Redmon Fauset becomes the first Black woman literary editor of The Crisis magazine, putting her at the forefront of Harlem's cultural renaissance, where she discovers talents such as Langston Hughes and Nella Larsen. But her ambitions and a secret affair with W.E.B. Du Bois threaten it all. Try these next: Piper Huguley's By Her Own Design; Tia Williams' A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. |
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The eights
by Joanna Miller
In 1920, four women from different backgrounds—Dora, Beatrice, Otto, and Marianne—forge an enduring bond as the first female students at Oxford, navigating personal loss, societal expectations, and the lingering trauma of World War I.
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| The Umbrella Maker's Son by Tod LendingNazi Germany invades Poland, forcing 17-year-old Reuven's family to give up their artisan umbrella shop, leave their home, and perform hard labor. Things get worse, but Reuven is always desperately seeking his missing girlfriend. Written by an award-winning filmmaker, this moving debut ponders the power of love but doesn't hide the horrors of the Holocaust. Read-alikes: historical fiction by Georgia Hunter and Heather Morris. |
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The book club for troublesome women : a novel
by Marie Bostwick
In suburban Virginia of the 1960s, Margaret Ryan forms an impromptu book club with three neighbors, discovering shared dissatisfaction with societal expectations, as the group bonds over personal struggles, feminist ideas and the transformative power of friendship during a life-changing year.
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The keeper of lost art : a novel
by Laura Morelli
During World War II in a Tuscan villa, young Stella befriends Sandro, an orphaned artist, as they protect hidden masterpieces like Botticelli's *Primavera* amid family tensions, encroaching German troops, and the mounting peril of war.
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The Gatsby gambit
by Claire Anderson-Wheeler
Greta Gatsby, newly arrived at her brother Jay's West Egg mansion, finds her idyllic summer shattered by scandal, betrayal, and murder, forcing her to navigate the secrets of a glittering yet dangerous world of wealth and deception.
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Finding Flora
by Elinor Florence
A feminist historical fiction novel about a community of only women in early-twentieth-century Alberta, all of whom are running from their pasts.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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