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Historical Fiction May 2022
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| The Tsarina's Daughter by Ellen AlpstenSeries alert: The Tsarina's Daughter is the follow-up to Ellen Alpsten's first biographical novel Tsarina, which centered on Catherine I, the second wife of Peter the Great, and her rise from commoner to Empress Regnant of Russia.
This time: The deaths of her parents and shifts in court politics leave Peter and Catherine's sheltered daughter Elizabeth (called Lizenka) penniless and out of favor in her youth, but as an adult she is presented with an opportunity for redress that's as tempting as it is dangerous.
Also available in eAudiobook on CloudLibrary |
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| City of Incurable Women by Maud CaseyInspired by: The real stories of women confined to the Salpêtrière hospital in Belle Epoque Paris with the dehumanizing and unscientific diagnosis of "hysteria."
Read it for: The evocative, lyrical writing and vivid illustrations, which bring each woman's memorable story to life.
Is it for you? The experimental structure and visceral depictions of the horrors of 19th century psychiatry might not appeal to all readers. |
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| Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa FuWhat it is: A moving and character-driven family saga that explores questions of identity, obligation, and the sacrifices sometimes required to survive.
The setup: After traumatic upheaval during his childhood in China Renshu "Henry" Dao does everything in his power to assimilate into American culture, but he isn't prepared when his daughter Lily starts asking questions that could reopen the wounds of his buried past. |
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| The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. by Lee KravetzWhat it is: A lyrical psychological novel about three lives touched by the development, publication, and study of Sylvia Plath's only novel The Bell Jar.
Starring: Agatha White, a frustrated 1950s housewife who develops a one-sided and increasingly obsessive rivalry with Plath after they join the same poetry group; psychiatrist Dr. Ruth Barnhouse, who tried to treat Plath's clinical depression; auction house curator Estee, who discovers the original manuscript of Plath's novel.
Also available in eBook on CloudLibrary |
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| The Great Passion by James RuncieWhat it's about: Upon hearing about the death of Johann Sebastian Bach, a former student of the composer reflects on his time with his teacher, which coincided with the composition of the celebrated oratorio St. Matthew's Passion. |
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| Things Past Telling by Sheila WilliamsWhat it's about: Inspired by a supercentenarian named in the 1870 U.S. census and ancestors of author Sheila Williams, this descriptive, dramatic novel follows the life of Maryam, an enslaved midwife.
Read it for: The sheer span of events Maryam's long life has allowed her to witness; Maryam's hard-won tenacity and resilience, which sustain her through her dehumanizing circumstances. |
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| Red Burning Sky by Tom YoungStarring: Stranded American airman Bill Bogdonavich, who gets involved with the local resistance in his father's home country of Yugoslavia after his plane is shot down by the Nazis; Drew Carlton, a fighter pilot desperate to make up for a recent string of failed missions in whatever way he can.
Their mission: Coordinate the safe return of hundreds of Allied soldiers stuck behind enemy lines through volatile alliances between the O.S.S., royalist Serbian partisans, and communist guerillas.
Also available in eBook on Hoopla |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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