Huraina: Winter issue out now! |
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| The Tubman command by Elizabeth Cobbs HoffmanWhat it's about: iconic abolitionist Harriet Tubman and her role in the 1863 Raid on Combahee Ferry, in which black soldiers from the 2nd South Carolina Infantry raided lowcountry plantations, destroying Confederate supplies and liberating 750 enslaved men and women.
What sets it apart: This well-researched novel by the author of The Hamilton Affair focuses on Tubman's lesser-known deeds as a scout and spy for the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Further reading: Catherine Clinton's biography Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom. |
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| The confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara CollinsIntroducing: Frannie Langton, a Jamaican servant languishing in Newgate Prison as she awaits trial for the murders of her employers.
Why you might like it: Framed as Frannie's confession, this debut offers Gothic atmosphere, vivid recreations of both West Indian sugar plantations and Georgian London, and a penetrating exploration of Enlightenment-era scientific racism.
Want a taste? "The cold seemed to carry its own smell, like raw meat, and came on me sudden as a cutpurse.” |
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Race to Marathon
by Jay Greenwood
The vast Persian Empire already dominates nearly half of the earth's entire population, but Persia's Great King now has his sights on Greece. Race to Marathon vividly imagines this key moment in history--the Battle of Marathon. The action unfolds through the stories of its participants--valiant women, fearsome warriors, and cunning leaders--woven into a fabric of intrigue and passion. All logic is on the side of the Persians, and the fate of the Greeks seems clear: death or enslavement. But on the battlefield, shrewd intuition, a zeal for glory, and the breathtaking feats of long distance runners help the Greeks. At home in Athens, wives, mothers, and daughters wage a war of wiles against traitors who plan to help the Persians capture the city. And the goddesses are watching. Race to Marathon builds to a stunning end, which demonstrates that the story of Marathon is as relevant today as it was when men and women of fortitude struggled to preserve their freedom.
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The last days of the Romanov dancers
by Kerri Turner
Valentina Yershova's position in the Romanov's Imperial Russian Ballet is the only thing that keeps her from the clutches of poverty. With implacable determination, she has clawed her way through the ranks, relying not only on her talent but her alliances with influential men that grant them her body, but never her heart. Then Luka Zhirkov - the gifted son of a factory worker - joins the company, and suddenly everything she has built is put at risk. For Luka, being accepted into the company fulfils a lifelong dream. But in the eyes of his proletariat father, it makes him a traitor. As civil war tightens its grip and the country starves, Luka is torn between his growing connection to Valentina and his guilt for their lavish way of life. For the Imperial Russian Ballet has become the ultimate symbol of Romanov indulgence, and soon the lovers are forced to choose: their country, their art or each other.
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The Damascus road: A novel of Saint Paul
by Jay Parini
In the years after Christ's crucifixion, Paul of Tarsus, a prosperous tentmaker and Jewish scholar, took it upon himself to persecute the small groups of his followers that sprung up. But on the road to Damascus, he had some sort of blinding vision, a profound conversion experience that transformed Paul into the most effective and influential messenger Christianity has ever had. In The Damascus Road novelist Jay Parini brings this fascinating and ever-controversial figure to full human life, capturing his visionary passions and vast contradictions. In relating Paul's epic journeys, both geographical and spiritual, he unfolds a vivid panorama of the ancient world on the verge of epochal change.
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Josephine Baker's last dance
by Sherry Jones
Discover the fascinating and singular life story of Josephine Baker--actress, singer, dancer, Civil Rights activist, member of the French Resistance during WWII, and a woman dedicated to erasing prejudice and creating a more equitable world, in Josephine Baker's Last Dance. In this illuminating biographical novel, Sherry Jones brings to life Josephines early years in servitude and poverty in America, her rise to fame as a showgirl in her famous banana skirt, her activism against discrimination, and her many loves and losses. From 1920s Paris to 1960s Washington, to her final, triumphant performance, one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century comes to stunning life on the page. With intimate prose and comprehensive research, Sherry Jones brings this remarkable and compelling public figure into focus for the first time in a joyous celebration of a life lived in technicolor, a powerful woman who continues to inspire today. "
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The sect of angels
by Andrea Camilleri
The lawyer and journalist Matteo Teresi discovers the existence of a secret sect whose members include priests, politicians, and regional VIPs. During the early morning hours, when the town’s churches are closed, the “Sect of the Angels” meets in the sacristy to carry out their holy office: initiating devout virgins into the rites of married life. Preying on their victims’ naivete, the hooded “elect” commit ignominious acts while promising the young women divine grace. In 1901, at a time of immense changes in Sicilian society, the scandal breaks nationwide. But far from being hailed as a hero, Teresi is accused of disrupting the status quo and irrationally blamed for an outbreak of disease and a series of calamities. From the salons, churches and social clubs of Sicily to the country’s highest courts, Camilleri’s novel is a fast-paced, at times funny, passionately rendered portrait of the machinations of power and the difficult destiny of a local hero.
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Woman 99: A novel
by Greer Macallister
"She's only a number now. When Charlotte Smith's wealthy parents commit her beloved sister Phoebe to the infamous Goldengrove Asylum, Charlotte knows there's more to the story than madness. She risks everything and follows her sister inside, surrendering her real identity as a privileged young lady of San Francisco society to become a nameless inmate, Woman 99. The longer she stays, the more she realizes that many of the women of Goldengrove aren't insane, merely inconvenient and that her search for the truth threatens to dig up secrets that some very powerful people would do anything to keep. A historical thriller rich in detail, deception, and revelation, Woman 99 honours the fierce women of the past, born into a world that denied them power but underestimated their strength."
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| The spy of Venice by Benet BrandrethWhat it's about: The "lost years" of William Shakespeare, in which he becomes a spy, undertaking a secret mission while in the guise of a travelling player.
Why you might like it: This brisk yet intricately plotted debut portrays the Bard as a kind of Elizabethan James Bond, dodging assassins and seducing beautiful women.
About the author: When he's not busy writing this series (book 2 is The Assassin of Verona), author Benet Brandreth is the rhetoric coach for the Royal Shakespeare Company. |
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| The western wind by Samantha HarveyWhat it is: a medieval murder mystery told in reverse.
Starring: John Reve, the doubt-ridden priest whose role as confessor makes him privy to the secrets of an entire village.
For fans of: Iain Pears' An Instance of the Fingerpost, another stylistically complex historical mystery whose potentially unreliable narrator slowly reveals the secrets of isolated English communities. |
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| The widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata MasseyIntroducing: Perveen Mistry, Bombay's first woman solicitor. Despite her Oxford degree, she faces discrimination in a male-dominated profession.
What it's about: Could a strange proviso in the will of a wealthy Muslim mill owner be linked to a murder in the household of his three widows?
Why you might like it: This atmospheric series opener shifts between 1921, when Perveen conducts her investigation, and 1916, when young Perveen discovers her calling in the wake of tragic events. |
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| The ashes of London by Andrew TaylorLondon, 1666: In the aftermath of the Great Fire, a murder victim is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul's Cathedral; reluctant government informer James Marwood, son of a traitor, is tasked with finding the killer.
Why you might like it: Marwood's adventures (which continue in The Fire Court) unfold against a richly detailed 17th-century backdrop rife with political intrigue and religious unrest. |
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| The Frangipani tree mystery by Ovidia YuWhat it is: a charming traditional mystery set in British-controlled 1930s Singapore and written by the award-winning author of the Aunty Lee series.
Starring: Su Lin, a 16-year-old graduate of the Mission School whose cleverness and fluency in four languages make her helpful to police Inspector La Froy as they investigate a murder at the governor's house.
Series alert: This 1st in the Crown Colony series is followed by The Betel Nut Tree Mystery and the forthcoming The Paper Bark Tree mystery. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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