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Masks and shadows
by Stephanie Burgis
"The year is 1779, and Carlo Morelli, the most renowned castrato singer in Europe, has been invited as an honoured guest to Eszterhaza Palace. With Carlo in Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy's carriage, ride a Prussian spy and one of the most notorious alchemistsin the Habsburg Empire. Already at Eszterhaza is Charlotte von Steinbeck, the very proper sister of Prince Nikolaus's mistress. Charlotte has retreated to the countryside to mourn her husband's death. Now, she must overcome the ingrained rules of her society in order to uncover the dangerous secrets lurking within the palace's golden walls. Music, magic, and blackmail mingle in a plot to assassinate the Habsburg Emperor and Empress--a plot that can only be stopped if Carlo and Charlotte can see through the masks worn by everyone they meet"
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| The Summer Guest: A novel by Alison AndersonDid Anton Chekhov, acknowledged master of the short story form, once write a novel? That's what Anastasia (Ana) Harding comes to believe when she's hired to translate the diary of physician Zinaida Mikhailovna Lintvaryova (or "Zina"), who met and befriended Anton Pavlovich Chekhov when both were rusticating in the Ukrainian countryside in the summer of 1888. Parallel narratives reveal the connections between Zina, Ana, and Katya, the publisher who employs Ana, as they each contemplate the significance of their lives. With her lyrical prose and intimate character studies, novelist and translator Alison Anderson, who brought Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog to English-speaking audiences, will leave readers wanting to read (or revisit) Chekhov. |
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Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors
by Conn Iggulden
England, 1470. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The Yorkist King Edward IV is driven out of England, his wife and children forced to seek sanctuary from the House of Lancaster. Yet rage and humiliation prick Edward back to greatness. He lands at Ravenspur, with a half-drowned army and his brother Richard at his side. Though every hand is against them, though every city gate is shut, they have come home. The brothers York will not go quietly into banishment. Instead, they choose to attack. Yet neither Edward nor Richard realize that the true enemy of York has yet to reveal himself. Far away, Henry Tudor has become a man. He is the Red Dragon 'the man of destiny' who seeks to end the Wars of the Roses. His claim will carry him to Bosworth Field. There will be silence and the mourning of queens. There will be self-sacrifice and terrible betrayals. Two royal princes will be put to death. There will be an ending and a new royal house will stand over them all.
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| Marlene: A novel of Marlene Dietrich by C.W. GortnerKinder, Küche, Kirsche. Children, Kitchen, Church: this is what is expected of good German girls. But Maria Magdalena Dietrich has other plans. Traditional ideals of marriage and motherhood hold less appeal for her than performing on the stage -- and not as a concert violinist, as her strict mother insists. From the drag balls and cabarets of Weimar Berlin to the studios of Golden Age Hollywood, Marlene forges her own unconventional path, one that becomes especially dangerous when Hitler (whom she despises) comes to power and insists that she support his regime. |
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| Barkskins: A novel by Annie ProulxIn the deep, dark forests of 17th-century New France (now Canada), indentured censitaires René Sel and Charles Duquet work as "barkskins," or woodcutters bound to their seigneur as they toil to tame the "evil wilderness." Despite their shared circumstances, their fates dramatically diverge: one marries a Mi’kmaw woman and becomes the hardworking patriarch of a large, mixed-race family, while the other escapes and becomes a wealthy trader. Following two families over the course of three centuries, this sweeping family saga may appeal to fans of Joseph Boyden's The Orenda, which shares its setting but focuses on the region's indigenous inhabitants. |
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Focus on: Native American and First Nations People
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| The Orenda by Joseph BoydenSet in 17th-century Ontario during the French conquest of Canada, this sweeping, richly detailed historical epic unfolds through the eyes of three individuals: Huron (Wyandot) warrior Bird, his Iroquois captive Snow Falls, and Jesuit Missionary Père Christophe. As the French exploit long-standing conflicts between the Huron and the Iroquois to gain control of their respective territories, shifting alliances between all three groups irrevocably alter the landscape of North America and the lives of its indigenous people. |
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Maud's Line: A novel
by Margaret Verble
On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state in the union -- a direct result of legislation that seized territory belonging to the Cherokee (among other tribes) and displaced native peoples. A generation after the government resettles her family on an allotment in the eastern part of the state, 18-year-old Maud Nail longs to escape her father's farm. When a handsome stranger arrives in town, Maud sees her chance for a better life, or at least a different one. An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, author Margaret Verble draws on family history in this spare, compelling novel.
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| The Plague of Doves by Louise ErdrichIn 1911, the murder of a white farming family in Pluto, North Dakota leads to the lynching of three Ojibwe men, an event that casts a long shadow over the descendants of both the (wrongly accused) men and the lynch mob. Evelina Harp, a part-Ojibwe, part-white girl growing up in the 1960s and '70s, learns the story from her Mooshum (grandfather), widely known as a repository of family and tribal history whose personal connection to the tragedy has made him who he is. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize when it was published in 2008, The Plague of Doves is part of a loose trilogy along with The Round House and the recently published LaRose. |
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| People of the Longhouse by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal GearWhen Yellowtail Village is raided by the enemy warriors, 11-year-old Odion and his sister Tutelo are taken captive and delivered to Gannajero the Trader, a woman rumoured to use children's bodies in the practice of witchcraft. As the siblings endure slavery, their parents, War Chief Koracoo and Deputy Gonda, search for them. Set among the Northern Iroquois tribes of 15th-century North America, People of the Longhouse is the 1st book in a four-volume series that focuses on the lives of Iroquois Confederacy founders Dekanawida, Hiyawento (Hiawatha), and Jigonsaseh; it continues with The Dawn Country, followed by The Broken Land and People of the Black Sun. |
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Caleb's crossing
by Geraldine Brooks
Forging a deep friendship with a Wampanoag chieftain's son on the Great Harbor settlement where her minister father is working to convert the tribe, Bethia follows his subsequent ivy league education and efforts to bridge cultures among the colonial elite. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March.
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